Leave A Light On
by Luna-Discord
Summary: Alfred F. Jones expected a normal life in his normal New England town. Fate, however, had a different plan for our hero. Now he's on a whirlwind adventure that will change everything. USUK.
1. Chapter 1

Leave a Light On

Chapter 1

Everyone dies. It isn't one of the great secrets of the universe. It is a fact we all wish to avoid. It catches up eventually, but the chase is the thrill of the game.

Death, as Alfred F. Jones of 4203 Martin Luther King Dive in Franklin, Massachusetts understood it, was all in perspective. The teen thought about it like this- there were two types of death: the no- good, you'll-never-see-Grandpa-again-but-here-have-a-stuffed-giraffe-for-your-troubles kind and the kind where everything as you knew it change.

Both kinds terrified him. He didn't want either; the idea made his head hurt. Luckily for Alfred, the concept of death never reached his tiny suburb and the athletic boy was able to have a relatively peaceful life until the August that the McKiney's sold their house.

The McKiney's were old, too old for Alfred's tastes. They yelled when Alfred and his 'baby' brother, Matthew, played. It wasn't his fault that the basketball had landed on their stupid Chihuahua, and Matthew had thrown it anyways. Kids messed up, you know? But the angry couple hadn't let it go, and complained to the boys' parents. Naturally, Alfred took the blame. Matthew had innocent puppy eyes that made Emily Jones's will shatter to pieces, and Alfred wouldn't let his twin brother get hurt. His dad, Tim, had given him ice cream that night, though.

"I know that you covered for Mattie today, Al," Tim ruffled his hand in his son's golden locks, "You tried to look out for him, just like an older brother should. Which is great, of course, kiddo! I'm proud you did that without me telling you to, but tell us the truth next time, okay?"

That was when the boys were six. Eleven years had changed the opinions of the neighbourhood. Thomas announced that they were moving in March, and a huge party had been thrown the night of the McKiney's departure. Music was blasted into the crisp June night and the family was openly mocked. Alfred had just been glad to be rid of the couple. His friends were scared to come over because Janis McKiney would always watch out of her lace curtains.

It was a relief to have them gone, for sure. The couple hadn't kept up with the yard or the house, so it looked like a place out of a horror movie. The yellowed grass was over grown, creating a barrier around the run-down Victorian home. The walls had a dull, white coating that was chipping away to show the old wood underneath. It had become an eyesore for the block, a smudge on an otherwise perfect community.

The entire situation vexed Alfred's parents. Tim had announced to anyone who would listen that he could _finally_ get that promotion he had been deserving with a few more parties, without any neighbours to be embarrassed of, and Emily gossiped with the others that maybe they would finally get a family who _cared _about appearances.

Alfred could have cared less, though. It was a party, and Alfred lived for parties. Especially the ones with cookouts- his father's burgers were to die for. He could feel himself almost drooling in excitement.

_In fact,_ he thought, _I'll get one now_. The teen pushed himself out of the cream-coloured lawn chair and slid through the crowd of guests, trying to reach the grill, when his path was blocked by a delicate hand that shot out in front of his face.

"Alfred," Emily called sweetly, "Would you come here, please?"

Alfred fought back a groan, putting on the cheerful smile he knew she wanted. He stepped into his mother's circle, towering over the two women chatting with her. "Yeah, mom?" He stopped next to Emily's right shoulder.

"I was just talking to Sara and Lauren about your and Matthew's sports, and Sara was hoping you could take her niece, Chloe, to one of your games. Her family just moved into our district, so she doesn't know anyone yet, but she loves baseball. What do you say, dear?" Emily's eyes were hopeful, but hid the threat: Get a girlfriend or your life will be hell. Alfred wondered how awful this girl would be.

Sara was carrying on about Chloe. "Oh, you'll just love her, Alfie," He hated being called Alfie; it made him feel like a little boy, "Chloe is my niece from my sister. She's a social butterfly, and she's a very pretty girl too. She should fit right in," Sara started to rummage through her purse, searching for a picture, but it was all for show. The photo had been at the very top.

The picture showed a girl with long blonde hair that exposed the beginnings of dark roots, next to a middle-aged woman with curly brown hair. Alfred hated dyed hair. "Oh, she looks just like you, Mrs. Saenwood, you and your sister are nearly identical! You must be excited to have them near."

Alfred just wanted to leave for his burger. He could smell the delicious food waiting to be eaten, but Emily's hand had found its way to his right arm and was holding it in a tight grip that told him leaving would bring consequences. He was forced to sit through more dull conversation about how fantastic Chloe was until his stomach made a low growl. His mother finally released her grip, and he was finally free! Free to get the food he so desperately craved!

Alfred took two hamburgers from the hot grill, hissing as he got too close to the heat. Tongs were for wimps. He just wanted his burgers. Alfred moved through the crowded patio, shaking his left hand to get any remaining heat out as he walked towards the treehouse he knew his brother would be inside. The cool grass rubbed against his feet, matting under his flip-flops. Looking up, Alfred sighed. The huge treehouse rested in the branches of the large oak tree with the steps of the ladder nailed to the trunk. There was no way he could get up to the house with the plate in hand, Alfred needed both hands to climb. "Yo, Mattie!"

The younger blonde's irritated face popped over the balcony, his metal glasses threatening to slip off his sculpted nose as he hung his head down to look at his brother. "What, Al."

"Hold onto my food," Alfred whined and held the red paper plate up, trying to shield himself from his twin's wrath as he peeked around the plate to plead upwards. "Please? I wanna come up too."

"You are so helpless. And stupid. Did you really need more burgers, fatass?"

"Hey, don't be mean! I brought you fries and everything," Alfred laughed as he pushed the plate upwards to meet Matthew's outstretched arms. Matthew grumbled as he disappeared into the house with Al's food, muttering about how he wanted a coke instead.

Alfred popped his body through the opening of the planks and entered the chestnut wood treehouse. Matthew had set the plate on the 'coffee table' and was lounging on the worn, plaid couch, bobbing his head to the music playing softly from his iPod, already munching on the fries from the plate. Alfred swatted his legs to tell him to move.

Matthew and Alfred were twins, but not identical ones. Both boys were just under 6 feet tall and had wheat-coloured hair surrounding faces accented by glasses. Alfred's hair, however, was cut short, just above his ears with a cowlick that would not lie down. Matthew had wavy hair that fell below his ears with an erratic curl that fell on his right side. The twins had different eyes too. Alfred's eyes matched the sky, as Emily liked to tell her friends (or anyone who would listen, really), and Matthew's own were a dark blue that could almost pass for purple. The personalities of the boys divided them further. Alfred was as loud and wild as a hurricane, while Matthew was a gentle wind. The boys loved each other, though, and could tell each other anything.

"I hate these parties," Matthew huffed, "No one ever wants to talk to me. Either I'm too quiet for them or I say the wrong things."

Alfred wanted to scoff. "They just can't handle you then. You say the best things I've ever heard."

Matthew hummed in acknowledgement as the boys stared out the glass window at their house. Alfred found himself hoping that the house next door wouldn't be like theirs when it was bought. The old Victorian home was unique. It added flavor to the upscale, uniformed neighbourhood. Alfred tried to explain this to Matthew, but the younger twin threw his head back and laughed, before pushing his glasses up with his left finger. "I know what you mean. The house is cool, even if the McKiney's weren't. But we won't have to worry about the house just yet."

The older boy knit his eyebrows together. "What do you mean? It's up for sale, of course the new owner is going to want to change it."

"Yeah, but, I mean… Think about it! The place is a dump right now, it's completely rundown, only a family with way too much time or money on their hands will spend money on it. Most families that move to this neighbourhood are looking for something a) Classy, b) Ready-made, and c) Already perfect. If they were so intent on living here, there are houses that don't need work in a mile radius," Matthew explained, "Al, there's no need to worry. We have time."

The more he thought about it, the more he saw the logic in Matt's words. A family who buys a house that needs to be fixed will either restore it or completely restart. It was more likely that it would just be fixed up. Families that were willing to work for a dream house were hard to come by. His parents would have to live with the disappointment.

* * *

In the third week of June, Emily had commanded her sons to spend time outside. The boys had spent two days straight playing Left 4 Dead 2, and she could no longer take the cursing coming from the basement as the boys slayed their way through the zombie crowd. She thought the idea had been great, but from the way her sons had yelled at her over breakfast, it seemed like she had been wrong.

"Mom, that is so unfair!"

"Seriously? Seriously. We are totally healthy."

Alfred looked like he had just been told the world would end on his birthday. His fork was forgotten on his plate, lying untouched next to his partially eaten bacon and French toast. He was attempting to sway her choice with his eyes, but it wasn't working.

"Oh, come on, boys. I did not raise you to be lazy. Besides," She placed a used glass from the sink into the dishwasher, "It'll be fun. You can play basketball. You guys like basketball. You need to keep in shape for your sport seasons. Matt, darling, stop glaring and finish your bacon."

While his twin was speechless, Matthew was not. "You're a monster."

"Oh, but I put honey on it and everything," Emily chose to ignore her son. Where did all that attitude come from? He used to be a sweet boy. "Do either of you want orange juice?"

"No." Matt's glare intensified when Alfred raised his hand for some. He hissed at his brother, calling him a traitor.

"You are going outside. You will play a game, and I will enjoy having this house to myself for a few hours," The woman directed her glance to the door," Put on sunscreen before you go."

If it was anymore possible, Alfred's jaw dropped further. He stuttered out "Bu… But, Mom, we haven't even finished."

"You can eat outside, hurry up," Emily decided she wanted to take a bubble bath. That sounds good, she chirped to herself. As she walked out, Matthew muttered to Alfred about just hiding in the garage, "I heard that!"

As Emily exited the bath, she decided she needed to do that more often. She loved her husband and sons, but she craved being alone sometimes. The mother lived for the time when she could just sit down without any distractions, and read books or take two hour baths like she just had. Emily made a mental note to thank Tim again for the new bathtub, the jets inside felt great. She pulled on her gold earrings as she left the room, stopping at the sliding door. From her view at the patio, she could see her sons playing basketball in the yard, both boys with bright smiles on their faces. Emily wanted to freeze this moment, to keep them with her forever.

But, life had to go on, and she couldn't freeze it because she was feeling selfish. She opened the door separating her from her sons and called out to them. "Are you hungry yet?"

Her Alfie spun around and crowed out a yes with a bright smile. Matt responded with a smirk. "You're always hungry, Al. This doesn't count," which made Alfred pull his brother into a headlock.

"If you two are done, I'd like the flowers in the front watered. It won't take long. I can make sandwiches while you do that." With these words the boys sped off, only to come back soon after.

Alfred jumped in front of her, forcing his mother to take a step back in surprise. "Mom, Mom! You'll never guess what just happened, you'll never gue-"

"MOM!" Matthew ran into view, his curl bouncing with his steps, "Someone just bought the McKiney's house!"

Emily blinked as the two boys started to argue about who should have told her. _Well_, she decided_, that didn't take long_.

* * *

Mr. and Mrs. Jones were thrilled to learn about their new neighbours, if only for the knowledge that the house next to theirs would no longer bring them shame when they had guests. They, along with the other families on the block made plans about when and how they would great the neighbours, what the new family was like, what they did for a living. The McKiney's had been retired, there was no source of pride in the community from them so they could gloat about 'Well-my-neighbour-is-a-lawyer/brains surgeon/business owner, so-suck-it-career-rivals." to be had from them. Mr. McKiney had been a high-ranking naval officer, which was perfectly respectable but not normal in their area. They needed someone to fit in.

The planning went to waste though, and the house sat empty and broken for another month before anything happened. After waiting for a week, one person suggested they wanted to remodel before they came and yet nothing happened. The block was disappointed.

The next week, someone else suggested that they must be tying up loose ends before they moved, because the real estate agent had informed the Carsons that it was a family moving in as soon as they could. The block agreed to this, thinking it the most logical answer, and set about dreaming about what children could be coming. Alfred found that he could not care less about the stupid children, he just hoped they wouldn't be annoying.

By the third week, Alfred's family had lost all interest in the empty house. When no one had moved in, the neighbours gave up and went back to their lives until a moving van had pulled up along the streets. Emily had panicked and shoved polos and clean shorts at her sons as she herself tore up the house looking for her blue dress while her husband watched uninterested. The family piled out of the house and ran across the decaying grass. The Joneses were not the only family there- the Carsons, the Parkers, and the Skrepskis were there too.

Two of the movers had unpacked a beige couch with plush cushions and were carrying it into the house. A third, who stared at the visitors, was holding a rectangular end table with dark wood. "Can I help you folks?"

Mrs. Skrepski smiled sweetly as she shifted her son onto her hip. She giggled as she spoke to the worker. "Oh," she began, "We were just hoping to meet the family."

"Sorry ma'am, but you'll just have to wait. They just told us to move the furniture and set everything up. We don't know when they'll come."

Emily forced a smile, and said "Thank you for your time," before she spun on her heel, head held high as she stalked back to the house. She ranted that night to Tim, shouting _Who waits TWO MONTHS to move into their house?_ And _Who even waits this long to visit their new house? _The next morning her temper had gone down, but Matthew and Alfred had still been to terrified to speak, she could snap at any point. Emily's bad mood cleared though, three days later. A Red Nissan Maxima sputtered down the street, pulling into the house's dirty driveway.

Their mother had shoved Matthew and Alfred out of the house as she tried to smooth down her purple shirt at the same time she raked her fingers across Alfred's wild cowlick and push up Matthew's glasses. The trio had almost reached the sidewalk when Emily gasped loudly and ran into the house, appearing seconds later with a plate of cookies that she shoved into Matthew's arms.

Two male figures had exited the car and were almost inside the house. Neither had noticed the family yet. The older, a tall man with short brown hair, rummaged through the pockets of his charcoal trousers for what Alfred could only assume to be the keys to the house. _Why wouldn't he grab them before? I would._

The boy standing next to him drew Alfred's attention away. He was much shorter than the man next to him. He had choppy blond hair that Alfred knew his mom would have a heart attack if she ever saw on him, and looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. He wore a tight sweatshirt with pale blue stripes that were set against murky grey. It covered the top of his washed out jeans that were tucked into darkened leather combat boots. Alfred chuckled. The boots had to give him an extra boost, which meant he was even shorter. The boy carried a cardboard box in his hands that held leafy plants and what appeared to be heavy books. He nudged the other man with his box and mumbled something indistinct.

The peaceful moment crashed down when Emily called out a loud hello to the pair as the man had turned the key in the lock. The males jumped and whipped around, identical green eyes widened in shock.

"Single parent?" Alfred muttered to his twin, turning his head towards the other so that that sound would not carry to the strangers. His eyes never left the smaller boy.

Matthew barely shook his head. "No, they're too close in age. Brothers, I think."

Almost as if he had heard the younger twin, the tall man's eyes flashed in anger and he pushed the boy through the unlocked door, slamming it shut as the blonde passed the entryway. He snapped out at the intruders of his lawn, "What do you want." A light accent marked his words. Alfred couldn't place it. Irish, maybe?

Emily folded in on herself but she managed a brilliant smile. "We're the Joneses… We live in the house next yours. We just wanted to welcome you," she gestured with her hand to Matthew, straightening up a little, "Who was that? He looked about the same age as my sons. Maybe he'd like to hang out with them. We brought cookies. Maybe you two could come over if you're not too busy."

"No, thanks." _What are the other accents? Maybe it's Scottish_. Alfred was too distracted by the accent to notice the man picking his box up and walking inside. The sound of the door slamming rang through the street.

The boys shared a look and Alfred had the feeling in the pit of his stomach that this wouldn't end well. He had seen to many horror movies to not notice this: a new family came to a neighbourhood, the new family was antisocial, the new family eats their neighbours. His brother's eyes warned him about getting carried away though, so he tried to relax.

"Maybe they're shy," Emily started, "We can try again later when they're settled." Alfred rubbed his hands on his temples. Couldn't they see? That was always how the movies started. He opened his mouth to say something to his mother, to warn her, but Matthew stomped on his feet. The older blonde cried out. "Oh, _Alfred_, sweetheart, what happened?"

"It's nothing, Mom," Matthew reassured her with a smile, "He just tripped again, like always."

* * *

Arthur Kirkland watched the street outside from where he sat on the windowsill. He was running his thumb over the gold pendant he wore around his neck, ignoring the sounds that came from the kitchen as his brother Oliver unpacked the dishes.

He stopped his movements as the noises turned into footsteps behind him, but he didn't bother to turn around until a hand was laid on his shoulder.

Oliver looked down at him, his face filled with concerned. "Hey, aren't you going to unpack? All the big boxes are in your room already."

"I want to go home." Arthur turned back to the window.

His brother sighed behind him and moved his hand to tousle the blond hair beneath him. "We are home. For now. Come on, Arthair, it's only for a bit." Arthur swatted the hand away, mumbling about how he was getting too old for nicknames. "Oh, are you now? So, I suppose I should tell James that our baby brother doesn't need us anymore, and he wants to be all alone so we should never, ever, ever talk to him again. Hmm?"

The younger boy stuck out his tongue and stood up. "Whatever. When will James and Peter be coming? Has James said when we can go home yet?"

Arthur felt his spirits crumble when Oliver wouldn't meet his eyes. "Well, you know, Arthair, James has a lot of things he needs to take care of… Don't give me that look, you know how careful we have to be. It'll work out, okay."

"You wouldn't have to be careful if you would just stop this."

"Arthur…" A hand reached out, but it was avoided.

"I don't want to talk about this. Who were those people outside?"

Oliver gave him a sad look, but did not press. "It was just some nosy neighbours. You remember what I told you right? Don't talk to anyone, no one can know we're out here. If Father finds out, you have to go back and he won't let you see us."

"I remember, okay? I'm not stupid, _Brawd_," Arthur scoffed and turned away, lifting up a discarded blanket to look for something.

"_Gwarndo I mi,_ Arthur! I'm serious!" Oliver shouted as he pulled the boy up to look him in the eyes, "Be careful, okay? For once, think before you do something, please."

Arthur bent down again, his blonde fringe covering his eyes. "Okay," he mumbled before he looked up and straightened his back, "I promise." He bent over a stack of books before he found what he was looking for. He pulled up a small lantern that was covered with small stars and moons, except for the middle. An intricate sun was cut out of the metal that would filter the light from the candle within, a molted yellow thing that had obviously seen use daily. "Would you do the honours?" Arthur lifted the lantern to Oliver's level with an impish smile.

The taller man smiled back at him and lifted his fingers. Oliver opened a hatch behind the sun and snapped his fingers together. A fire sprang up on the wick and burned a bright yellow.

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 1**

That end scene shamelessly written to Seven Devils by Florence +the Machine, which I highly suggest to get the whole feeling of what I was writing. Just sayin'. It goes well.

The language used with Oliver and Arthur is Welsh. It was translated by Google, so it may not be the best, sorry Welsh speakers. Oliver is Wales, James is Scotland. If you don't like them, they won't be in the story except for one other plot point. Emily and Tim are just OC's, along with everyone else on the street. I'm not using them often, but they are needed.

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own Florence + the Machine or Axis Powers: Hetalia. Florence + the Machine is signed with Universal Island Records and belongs to the wonderful Florence Welch and Axis Powers: Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himuraya. If I owned either one, I would not be writing because I would be in a fangirl-coma.

Thank you _so_ much for reading, please drop a review too!


	2. Chapter 2

Leave A Light On

Chapter 2

"Mattie, you have to catch the ball with your hands, not your face!" Alfred jeered at the other boy, who stood clutching his nose.

"I," he growled back, "Am going to kill you. Maybe not today and maybe not this week, but one day in the very near future, Al. You. Will. Pay." The basketball lay forgotten at his feet, shaded by the shadow of the garage. Tim had announced that the boys should play with him more often, as a way to 'bond.'

It was really an excuse to glare over the fence at their new neighbours' house, but Tim hadn't wanted to admit it. He was frustrated with the new family. His wife had ranted about them when he came home that night. Nothing had been changed about the house, and no one actually knew the name of the people inside. No one had seen them since they had moved in, though Lacy Skrepski swore that she had seen one of them staring out the upstairs window when she was walking the dog once.

Tim had just returned from work that day and was 'getting ready' before he came outside with his sons. This meant he was finishing any papers left unfinished from the day's work, but Alfred and Matthew didn't mind. Their dad was awful at basketball anyways.

Alfred glanced at the basketball before he slid his eyes to Matthew. The other boy continued to ignore him. He slid closer and said to his brother, "Hey, Matt. Guess what." Matthew clutched his nose tighter, breathed in, and let go. He turned a glare to the other, signaling for him to carry on. "I bet you… Dish duty for a week, that I can shoot this ball farther than you.

"That's a dumb bet."

"You're a dumb bet."

Matthew rubbed his nose again before breathing out again. "Your comebacks suck, too." A pink tongue shot out towards him. "See what I mean. They suck, Al." He dodged the basketball that was thrown at him, before throwing it into the metal hoop himself. The game started up again.

A shadow extended down the concrete driveway as the day wore on. The boys were so caught up in their game that they missed the sound of a door creaking and a weary blonde head poking out. The head was followed by a body that carried trays of vibrant plants in both arms and snuck beneath the fence. The figure worked to the sounds of the basketball hitting the concrete and the occasional cursing of the boys.

The boys continued to ignore the worker until the ball rolled down the driveway. Matthew chased after it and Alfred finally was drawn into the real world. He grabbed the water bottle he had set in the grass and took deep gulps from it. He lowered the bottle and stared at the space, waiting for his brother. The slits between the boards of the fence darkened periodically, shifting back and forth. The shape shifted forward again and yellow tufts of hair shone through a hole in the wood. Alfred tilted his head to the side and before setting his bottle down waved the other boy over.

"Wha-" Matthew began to say but was cut off by a hand slapped over his mouth. His twin waved towards the house and was answered with a questioning glance. Alfred moved closer to the fence, pulling Matthew with him.

The boys stood on their toes to look down over the fence. The boy who had been on the porch was sitting in the now green grass, moving his hands into the dirt and humming an unfamiliar tune under his breath. A large plant with tiny white flowers sat next to him on the ground. He didn't seem to mind the soil that coated his forearms and clothing as he dug into the dark soil.

Alfred felt Matthew push his elbow into his side. His spying partner blinked up owlishly at him and bobbed his head downwards, looking at his brother expectantly. _Oh yeah_, Alfred remembered, _Mattie's shy_. It was easy to forget with how the two interacted.

Alfred looked down again and cleared his throat. The boy on the ground fell back, shock covering his face. "Uh, hello."

The boy did not respond and his mouth hung open, giving him the appearance of a fish. Alfred felt confused again. It wasn't too strange to greet a neighbour, was it? He decided to try again, "I'm Al, and this is Matt. We live in the house next to you? We never really go to meet the other day, so, yeah."

Matthew smiled gently. "Hey," he said gently, waving his hand at the boy.

The smaller boy closed his hand and looked around the garden, seemingly unsure of himself, but Alfred decided it was an improvement nonetheless ."So, um, we're playing basketball. Want in?"

It was the wrong thing to say, apparently. The boy stood up and brushed his jeans off, looking only at the house. "I'm sorry," his voice had an accent too, and Alfred found himself wondering where the family was from again. "I have to go." Before he hurried off, his eyes lifted to meet Alfred's blues. They were unnaturally green and highlighted under thick eyebrows. Alfred wanted to see more as soon as the gaze was broken, but the boy had shut the door to the house before anything else could be said.

Alfred felt his brother settle back onto the ground. He, however, stayed at the fence. "Well, that was weird," Matthew supplied.

The older twin chuckled back nervously. "Yeah, sure was," he straightened up and flashed a grin, "So, what do you think? Witness Protection Program?" Matthew rolled his eyes and pushed him to the side.

The brothers began to joke around again, shoving into each other and teasing. Their father came out soon after and pulled the two into a headlock. "Sorry I was late, boys. Still up for a game?" He peered suspiciously over at the fence. "Or do you mind waiting until tomorrow? Your mother is about to finish dinner: teriyaki pork. What do you think?" He didn't wait for an answer as he pulled the boys into the house. The boys tried to explain to their parents what had happened over dinner that night, and while Tim was unhappy, Emily remained cheerful.

"Like I've told you before, they're probably shy. They had accents, so they must from another country. Maybe they're still getting used to being here," Emily explained, "So don't you two go around bothering them, especially that boy. If he is from another country, you two smothering him will just make him uncomfortable. I'm sure they're perfectly nice people once you get to know them." Emily shrugged and went back to her food, signaling the end of the conversation. Tim mumbled anyways that it was okay only if they fixed their house. The twins pretended they didn't see her kick him in the shin.

True to their word, the brothers did not bother the boy after that. He worked in the garden every day, and from his hiding spot in the treehouse, Alfred could see the lawn become brighter and more colourful. The house, seemingly overnight, was painted a dark red that fit nicely against the dark wood that had been installed. The Jones' parents were pleased with the improvements, but the sons grew suspicious. They couldn't think of how the house had changed so quickly, and Matthew refused to believe Alfred's theory of aliens. So, the subject was abandoned.

School had started before the secluded family came into the spotlight again. It was during a neighbourhood watch meeting that the issue had come up. Mr. Perry swore that he had seen the older man leaving the house five days ago with a duffle bag and had not returned since. His questions were, if the adult was missing, who was there to take care of the boy? Who would stop him from having a party?

Alfred doubted that the boy would have a party since he was not going to the nearby school and therefore didn't know anyone, but his comment was ignored. Emily announced that they would wait one more day, and, if the man had not returned, they would go to check up on him because something bad could happen to the poor boy.

The neighbours had taken turns watching the house, but no one came or left from the front door. That night, Emily dragged her sons and Mrs. Skrepski with her to check in on the teenager, saying small groups would make him 'more comfortable.' As they walked up to the door, Matthew tried to sneak back, but his brother had grabbed him, hissing "I swear to God, Matt. If you leave me, I will show the potty training videos to _everyone_ on the hockey team." The younger twin's shoulders tensed up, and he quickly walked forward to the door.

Emily beamed at the boys when they arrived on the porch, which was surrounded by flowering bushes on either side. Alfred wondered how they had become so full in such a little time.

Mrs. Skrepski raised her fist and knocked at the door. There was a flash of movement by the window and a single green eye peeked around curtains and disappeared as quickly it came. The lit lantern in the window swayed, the only evidence of any movement. Alfred leaned closer to the window, trying to see the eye again.

* * *

Inside the house, Arthur was having a panic attack. He didn't know what to do. _Of all the times for Oliver to leave_. Should he open the door or pretend to not be there? He shook his head. If he didn't answer, they could come back again and with police officers. That would be even worse. But at the same time, what if he opened the door and talked to the people, but they came back again? Oliver and James would be so mad.

The knocking came again with a woman's voice calling out for him. He took a deep breath and turned the door knob, pulling the door open enough to show the right side of his face. "Hello. May I help you?"

On the other side, there were four people: a mousy woman with curly brown hair and a nervous smile, a woman with excited blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair who stood closest to him, and a pair of teenage boys that stood behind. The boys from the house next to them, Arthur realized. Looking at them, he thought them to maybe be twins. One of the boys tried to look him in the eyes, but Arthur shot his green eyes to the side.

The woman with the blonde hair, who Arthur assumed to be the twins' mother, leaned in. "Hi sweetie, I'm Emily from next door. Can we come in, honey? We'd like to talk to you."

Arthur's pulse sped up. Oliver would be furious if they came in. _Trust no one,_ he told himself. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to let anyone in." _Please, please leave_.

"Oh," Emily said, "That's alright. Let's talk out here, then!" Arthur nodded to her. "… Would you like to come outside, maybe?" Arthur shook his head no, and Emily seemed put out.

The other woman started to speak, "So, um, what was your name again?" She waited for Arthur to mumble his name back, "Right, Arthur, so, is your guardian home right now? Mr. Perry, the one in the blue house, said that he saw him leaving the other day. Has he come back yet?"

Arthur shook his head, wincing inside. So, they had seen Oliver leaving. They would never leave now. Emily pretended to be surprised. "Do you know when he'll be back? We're just worried about your safety, dear."

"Yes, my brother will be back soon," Arthur lied smoothly. He looked back up at this point, needing to stress this to himself more than the intruders. It had been a simple problem that Oliver had to fix. Nothing had gone wrong. "If you'll excuse me, I need to finish some chores."

"Well," Emily cut in, "Where has he gone? You can trust us. It's okay." _But it's not_! Arthur wanted to shout. Oliver had acted strangely before he left. Arthur was sure something had gone wrong. Something could have happened to James. He could have been caught and executed, and no one would tell Arthur. He felt his stomach start to churn.

"No, no, it's fine. He just had a business problem he had to take care of. He'll be back soon," Arthur said distractedly. He said his goodbyes quickly and shut the door, pressing his back to the cool wood and sliding down to the floor. He buried his hands in his messy hair and counted back from twenty.

The group's footsteps and voiced carried through the door. Emily snapped that she didn't like him. He was rude. They had only been trying to help. One of the boys made a comment about his eyebrows. The other woman tittered that Oliver had probably abandoned him and was neglecting him before that, because 'Emily, did you _see_ how skinny he was?'

Arthur stood up to brew a pot of tea, staring at the random books and plants sitting around the house. He sipped at his rose-flavoured drink, forcing down anger. His brothers weren't abandoning him. It was just… complicated, and that was all. How dare they say such things about him. They didn't know him.

He gulped down the tea, and, picking up one of the books, he fell into the arm chair, trying to ignore the wilting plants surrounding him.

They were coming back.

* * *

Alfred was happy he had a name to place with the mysterious teenager now. _Arthur_. Strangely enough, it fit him. His mother had ranted about him whenever she had a chance, but Alfred decided he didn't care what she said. He would have acted the same way if his headstrong mother had shown up at his door demanding answers to questions that he didn't even know. The boy had been in shock, it was clear to him.

The tall teen sipped at his coke from his post in the treehouse, chemistry homework lying unfinished next to him. His eyes were locked in a contest with a squirrel on a neighbouring branch, and the wind rippled through the leaves. His attention was drawn away by the sound of a door slamming against its frame, and he cursed when he realized he had lost to the squirrel. He tilted his head to the side, trying to see who had walked out of the house, but he could not see anyone. Confused, he looked to his right to see Arthur carrying a basket of plants in his arms that threatened to spill at any moment.

He called down, to the other teenager, "Hey, do you need help?" The other boy flushed angrily and looked downward, struggling the whole time with his load. Alfred rolled his eyes and walked out on one of the thick branches, stepping down onto the garage. He walked across the roof and climbed down using an empty trellis to lower himself down onto the grass. "Whoa, this place looks great!"

Arthur flushed lightly and shrugged his shoulders. "Thank you, I guess." He shifted the plants in his arms.

"Oh, here, let me take some of that," Alfred bundled the plants into his arms before Arthur could protest. Arthur closed his mouth dejectedly. "So, where do you want these? And what are these?"

The other boy shot a glare his way, and Alfred couldn't help but notice his eyes. They were a deep green that Alfred had never seen before. He was so focused on the unusual colour that he almost didn't notice when Arthur began to speak. He shook his head, making his blonde cowlick bounce back and forth. Arthur was telling him "… They're herbs, and you really don't need to help me."

"Of course I do! What hero would let someone struggle like that?" He flashed a sun-like grin at the other, who rolled his eyes.

Arthur turned his body to face the furthest corner away from the pair and began to walk, "Fine. But I only need help carrying these. I have more inside, but you really don't need to help with those." Alfred smiled and began to follow him.

"So, Artie, where are you guys from? You talk weird."

The other boy ignored him and set the plants down. "Just put them down here. I have more inside." _Or, you could just be anti-social,_ Alfred thought angrily. "Are you coming or not?"

This load seemed to be heavier than the last. Alfred could feel his own arms becoming tired from only half of the load. How did Arthur do this all the time? Alfred decided to ask him.

Arthur snapped a glare towards him, "What are you saying?"

Man, did the new boy like to glare. "Nothing," Alfred waved his hands," It's just that this is pretty heavy, and you don't look like the strongest guy. So-"

"Did you just call me weak?" The smaller boy snapped and pointed his finger at the taller as a threat. "Honestly?"

"No! I'm just saying, well, you know," Alfred scratched his hand in his hair, not looking at the fuming body across from him, anywhere but the scathing eyes. "Well… You're tiny."

The thick eyebrows of the other boy raised in disbelief. Arthur crossed his arms and leaned forward. "What," he hissed, "Did you just say?"

Warning bells sounded in Alfred's head, but he only dug himself a deeper hole when he opened his mouth. "Well, you're shorter than I am and stuff." He decided to leave out Arthur's skinny limbs. "You just don't seem like you get a lot of exercise is all."

Arthur rubbed at his temples, pressing soothing circles to his skulls. He tried to steady his breathing before he spoke again. "Get out." The sunny blonde next to him blinked back in confusion. "Get out of my yard," he waved with his arm towards the fence that separated their house, "I'm going inside, if you don't mind, and when I look back out the window, I hope for your safety that I won't be able to see your sodding arse."

At these words, Arthur pivoted on his heel and stomped towards the house. Alfred remembered to shut his jaw before he ran off to catch the other before he could escape inside. He had set his foot on the brick patio before his body froze up, and he was gripped with a heavy feeling he could not place. Alfred took a step back and the pressure released. The back door slammed, and Arthur was gone, leaving Alfred to stand in the shadows of the old house. He sighed and made his way back to his own yard.

The next morning, Alfred had placed the fight in the back of his mind and focused on struggling to get to the school on time. Matthew was tugging him out the door, scolding him for sleeping past his alarm for the third time that week, when disaster struck.

The boys had slid into the onyx Jeep with their backpacks. Alfred had started the car but received only splutters from the engine. He stopped his frantic movements and twisted the ignition again. The engine protested with sounds of a broken factory. Matthew leaned over the dashboard to stare at the front. "Al, I thought you serviced this last week."

His brother twisted the key again, "I did! I don't know what's going on."

Emily, who had been watching the boys from the kitchen window walked out to help. She tapped on the glass, motioning for the passengers to join her outside. Alfred popped the top open to look inside. Matthew let out a whistle as Emily sighed "Oh, Alfie, what did you get into now?"

Around the engine was wrapped light green vines that constricted the engine's movements. Alfred reached to pull the invaders out, but his mother slapped the hand away and flashed a glare at him. "Well," she announced cheerily, "I'll just have to drive you boys to school. Grab your bags." Her sons began to protest, saying they could fix the car, it was fine, she didn't need to bring them, but she insisted. They were already late.

As the silver van sped down the street towards the school, Alfred thought he saw a body hidden behind a curtain in the old house, with a cat-like green eye and smirk peeking around. Alfred twisted and sunk into his seat, unable to shake the image of the mischievous face that had followed the family. Alfred made up his mind- it was time for some detective work.

* * *

Thank you all so much for your comments, story alerts, and favourites! I won't lie, I squealed over every single one. You guys are just that cool.

Disclaimer: I still do not own Hetalia. Sorry to disappoint.

Thank you for reading, please drop a review on what you thought. Your thoughts brighten my day!


	3. Chapter 3

Leave A Light On

Chapter 3

Alfred watched the swirls of leaves moving outside his classroom window, not paying attention to the teacher in the front as they ranted about how students ought to listen better. There were more important things than derivatives and formulas, and he really didn't care anymore. Calculus was boring and way too easy for him anyways. And it was a Friday, and Alfred never cared on Fridays as a policy.

The teacher's voice raised an octave as she noticed no one was actually listening. It stung at Alfred's ears, but he kept his eyes focused on the tree. The green seemed off, but maybe it was because he could only compare anything to Arthur's plants now. It was unnatural, how vibrant those plants were. Those vines had been the same shade too. His attention was snapped forward when the teacher slapped a stack of papers on the edge of her desk.

She began to rant again, and Alfred settled back into his chair. The thought had been in his mind since the incident: Had Arthur ruined the engine? The vines had been twirled around the engine to reach into places that had baffled the mechanics. No human could reach in that far, and the family would have heard the engine being removed. Plants didn't grow that fast.

Arthur couldn't be responsible, he tried to tell himself. He was just a shy, unusual, antisocial kid that had moved in. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him. So, he should stop thinking off him as an alien. Because he definitely was not.

It was becoming harder to tell himself these things though, as more rumours were starting about the house and it's resident. No one had noticed the older man coming back, and Arthur only emerged to go to the store for food. He spoke to no one. Word was spreading through the town though, and people had started to tease the strange boy. Alfred had heard some of the meaner students planning to break into the house to see what Arthur was hiding.

Of course, only a few others besides Alfred knew his name. It made him feel special, like he was in on the secret. Like it was a big conspiracy to know anything about the strange family. It probably was. They had to be in witness protection! How cool would that be? Alfred loved secrets.

He zoned out thinking of the possibilities. He continued to ignore the teacher, who was now red in the face from yelling. Her rage was cut short by the shrill call of the bell and her students sighed in relief. Confused, the woman was jolted to the side by the rush of teenagers. Alfred muttered a good-bye to her as he passed, but it went unheard.

The hallway was crowded and loud as Alfred tried to push himself through to his locker. Boys from the baseball team called out to him as he walked and he grinned back. They were fun to be with on the team, but he would rather avoid them at other times. There were more enjoyable things to do and conversations to have. He was tired of talking about dumb girls with even dumber guys.

Matthew was leaning against his brother's locker and talking to his friends, Lars and Miguel. Alfred wanted to tear his hair out. The two were great friends for Mattie, but they hated him. He didn't want to fit with anyone today.

Alfred's luck ran out though, because Matthew told him that the two would be hanging out with them tonight. He managed a small, trying to ignore the glares the bigger boys were sending him. "Great, but I have plans. It'll be just you guys and Mom."

His twin looked disappointed, like he knew that Alfred was skipping out because of his friends. "Oh, okay" he mumbled, "I'll just ride home with them then." Alfred flashed a grin at the trio and put away his books. He shut his locker and ran off, as far from the trio as he could manage. He pulled out his cell phone and sent a text to his mother, explaining he wouldn't be home.

He shuffled down the hallway to the commons, thinking about what he could do. He had extra clothes in his bag, maybe he could just go to the gym? As the teen entered the wide space, a metallic ding came from his left pocket. His mother wanted to know who he would be with. It figured. Alfred scanned the room before his eyes settled on the blonde from Sara's photo. Chloe was laughing with a petite brunette. The blonde was struck with inspiration.

The boy walked calmly, as if it weren't important, towards the girls. He stopped in front of the pair, and slipped on his signature grin. "Hey, girls," Alfred began to say, "You're Sara's niece right? I think we met at a block party? Chloe, right?"

She fell instantly into his charm. Her friend began to giggle next to her. Chloe nudged the girl before she replied, "Um, yeah. Alfred, Emily's son. You play baseball, right? I love baseball, when does the season start?" It was strange, Alfred realized. She actually seemed to like the sport and wasn't trying to impress him. She did seem fairly athletic.

This knowledge relaxed Alfred, more than he expected it would. Chloe introduced the girl sitting next to her as Quinn. She played golf at the school, which was where Chloe met her. The trio chatted a bit more, before Alfred decided to just ask the pair. "So, hey, are you two busy today? Maybe we could hang out?"

The girls exchanged a grin before Quinn whipped back towards the wheat-haired boy, "Yes, we're completely free! What did you have in mind?" Alfred shrugged, but the grins did not fade. "Let's just go get something to eat. I know of a good Italian place. It's a bit far away though." Alfred offered to drive, and the trio was off. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and tapped at the screen an answer for his mother, before he jogged back up to the girls.

Alfred felt his heart sink a little when the girls asked to switch the music off the Eagles CD he had playing in the Jeep, but he relaxed when popular songs came on. The music wasn't all bad. He felt silly, what had he expected Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers? These weren't pre-pubescent girls, of course they had better taste then _that._ And the music didn't even matter, because the conversation was much better. Intelligent, even. He was tired of pretending he was stupid to fit in. Quinn giggled far too much and Chloe kept checking her hair when she thought he wasn't looking, but the car ride was enjoyable. It was better than being with Matt's retard friends. They smelt better too.

A bit far away turned out to be much farther, and Alfred was starving when Quinn pointed for a turn. The Jeep pulled into an almost empty parking lot in front of a tan building with wide windows and surrounded by pale red flowers. Quinn gave a small smile as she leaned forward to Alfred. "It has _great_ food, it's to die for, really. It's sad though, because not many people know about it. I've been to Italy, the restaurants there are just as good as this one, but it's less expensive." Alfred highly doubted it was that good, but he didn't want to be rude. As ditzy as Quinn was, she was nice, and he didn't want to be rude.

The staff inside looked surprised when Alfred and Chloe walked in, but that faded when they saw Quinn. A woman behind the counter called out for Quinn to take her normal table. An Asian took their orders for drinks. The conversation started up again and the three barely noticed when the drinks came. Their order for food was taken and a comfortable silence settled over the group as they slurped at their drinks. An elderly couple walked through the door and sat towards the back.

Chloe shifted in her seat and twisted in her seat to check if the couple or the servers were listening. Reassured that they were not, she turned back to her companions. "So, Al," she began. Her voice was so low it was almost drowned out by the cheesy music playing above, "I heard from my aunt that you live next to the creepy house. The one with the kid who never comes out and was abandoned in there, is that true?"

"Oh! I heard about that," Quinn gushed with wide eyes, "Is it true that he's locked inside because he's completely crazy and no one can come in contact with him or he'll try to kill them?"

"No way, didn't you hear? He's cursed, so his family left him there to die."

Alfred didn't understand, why were they saying these things about Arthur? Sure, he was a little antisocial, but he had seemed nice enough. "He's not crazy or cursed, you guys. Get serious here."

Quinn let out a squeal. "So, you've _talked to him._ That is crazy! What's he like?"

Alfred felt uncomfortable under the stares of the girls. He didn't like the eagerness they had for digging into the strange boy's life. "I dunno, he's really shy. I've barely met him. He seems normal enough, but I dunno."

"Oh, come on, Al," Chloe chided, "You have to have some theories of your own." She sipped at her ice tea and she leaned back to scrutinize the boy across from her. She put on a pout when Alfred wouldn't answer. When Quinn noticed what her friend was doing, she turned her own pout at him.

"Alright, alright! Stop looking at me like that, geez. I guess I'd have to say… Witness Protection." Alfred's jaw dropped when the girls began to protest for a better theory.

"Please, Al, you have to have a better theory then that."

Alfred flicked his eyes between the two girls. He didn't want to say anything about the aliens, because Matthew always laughed at him for the thought. Still, he didn't think Arthur was human, exactly. _What should I say? _The male heaved a sigh before he began to speak again. "That is a damn good theory, I'll have you know. But, I guess if you want a different one… I don't think he's human."

The girls' faces lit up. This had been the kind of gossip about the newcomer they had been looking for. Chloe scooted her chair in and placed her hand on Alfred's forearm. "What do you mean?"

Warning bells went off in Alfred's head, so he casually leaned back and folded his arms. Chloe was cool, but not what he wanted. She was too… Well, Alfred didn't have a word for it, but he knew that he didn't like her like that. "Well, I don't expect you guys to know, because you've never actually met the guy, but he isn't normal. And I mean, not human normal," the girls made to open their mouths to question him further, but Alfred lifted a finger to his lips. "Ah ah ah, ladies. My lips are officially sealed."

Chloe rolled her eyes in fake disgust. "Whatever, Alfred. So, what else do you know? Like, does this mystery kid have a name or what?

The girls looked expectantly at Alfred. He didn't know if he should answer, honestly. Arthur had been pretty reluctant to tell his name in the first place, would he really want it being spread around? _Not that it matters of course. It's not like we're friends or anything._ But he did want to be. Arthur was fascinating to Alfred, something completely foreign in his uniform life. It would be rude to Arthur to share his name without permission. He seemed so private, who was Alfred to ruin that? The girls were still staring at him and Chloe seemed to be annoyed by his silence. He opened his mouth, still trying to think of a response when he was cut off by the waitress bringing the food out.

He let out a sigh of relief as the girls were distracted by the large plates of food set in front of them. Alfred decided to further distract them from the subject of Arthur by remarking how glad he was to have a full wallet to pay for the food. Quinn looked up surprised. "Oh, you and Chloe don't need to pay, Alfred." When answered with questioning glances, she explained, "It's my treat, as a thank you for hanging out with me. Don't worry, I've got this. The restaurant is cheap anyways."

Alfred smiled and thanked her and the trio dug into the food. It wasn't Italy good, but it was pretty great. Alfred wondered why there weren't more people. He decided to blame Olive Garden. When he brought this up to the girls, they laughed and began to joke about the evil ways Olive Garden sucked customers in. Alfred found himself genuinely happy that evening, which surprised him. He had thought this would be miserable.

It was only seven when Alfred dropped off the girls. He decided that was too early to go home, Lars and Miguel would probably still be with Matthew. At a lost for what to do, the teenager began to drive around his neighbourhood. Feeling defeated, he pulled to the curb at the neighbourhood park, which was deserted. The park was nestled next to a large patch of woods that Alfred and Matthew had played hide and seek in when they were younger. He sat on one of the blue swings dotting the playground. His view of the forest was partially blocked by the slide. Kicking his feet, he turned the thoughts in his head over and over as he kicked his feet. His college acceptance letters had come in. His father had forced him to apply at Duke University as a pre-med student, despite Alfred's wishes. Being a doctor was cool and all, but he'd rather do something to help the masses. Volunteering was fun, but he didn't want to do that for the rest of his life. His acceptance letter for Duke had come though, and Alfred's father couldn't be happier. Alfred, on the other hand, was stuck. He hated his life sometimes. Anyone else would have been thrilled.

Alfred's attention was caught by some movement by the trees. Alfred sneaked his head around the slide as quietly as he could so he would not startle whatever was out there. He was surprised to see Arthur at the edge of the trees, wearing strange clothes. Over an old-fashioned white shirt and tight brown pants tucked into high boots, he wore a faded green coat with silver leaves sewed into the fabric. In his arms was a bundled bit of black cloth that seemed to be covering something lumpy. Alfred narrowed his eyes as Arthur entered the woods, disappearing in the shadows of the trees.

What was he doing? Where was he going with that bundle? Why the hell was he dressed like that? He stepped around the plastic slide, intent on following the other. He had almost reached the woods when his ringtone burst into the quiet night. Alfred scrambled to answer it and stop the noise. It was silly, because Arthur was probably far inside the woods, but years of stealing cookies from the kitchen at night had taught Alfred that stealth was key to any operation.

Alfred groaned when he read the name on the screen. Of course it was his mother, it was always his mother. He tapped at the screen before he lifted the phone to his ear, chirping a hello. His mother flew instantly into a panic ranting about how he should have been home by now, she wanted to spend time with her sons before they left her to become grown-ups, and did he know how worried she'd been. Alfred slouched his way back to the Jeep. The drive back to his house was blurry and Alfred couldn't take his mind off of Arthur. What was he doing? The monster theory seemed to be more likely now, but Alfred tried to calm his heart down. He was being paranoid, that was all.

He waved off his mother's attempts to get him to eat the casserole she made, but was held back by an interrogation of the night's activities. Emily pressed for details on Chloe, but Alfred decided against really saying anything. He knew if he gave the impression of liking the new girl, Emily would want a relationship between them. He didn't want to disappoint her when he told her she really wasn't his type at all.

Emily grew bored with her son's vague answers about the night and announced she was going to the store. Her smile fell for a moment when Alfred refused to go with her, and she left him alone in the kitchen. The house was quiet until a loud cry rang out from the basement. Confused, Alfred crept down the stairs, peering around the corner. Blue eyes rolled as he saw his brother with his friends still, playing Guitar Hero.

He trudged back up the stairs and into his room. He shut the door behind him and fell face first into the blue comforter. Sticking his hand out, he pulled a pillow to his face. _Is it possible to suffocate like this?_ That was a good question… Damn. Now he needed to know. It was like the time in the first grade when he had heard about French kisses, and decided to look it up. He couldn't sleep for two days after that, it was so gross. Well, not so much anymore, but honestly, that was scarring!

Alfred sat at the chair trying to think of the best search engine to use. 'Ask' was boring, 'Google' was probably the best, but 'Bing' was supposedly so nice. He bit his lip before he decided on Google. As he waited for the site to load, he glanced out the window into Arthur's garden. He liked to look out there because it was always so colourful, even at night. He really wanted to ask the boy how he did that. A flash of yellow in the far corner caught his eye. One of the flowers he had helped to plant. Thinking back on that day, he was startled by a thought.

The teenager could have sworn those yellow flowers had been Dahlias, which didn't make since. Dahlias didn't bloom in the fall. Emily had dragged Alfred flower shopping last year, where she bought Dahlias. She had made a huge fuss about them all spring because they were so pretty, but they had died by the summer time. Tim had dug out the card for the Dahlias and Emily finally realized that Dahlias are only spring time flowers. How where those still alive in September? They ought to be dead by now. Alfred remembered the vines around his car. Was Arthur really responsible for that?

No way. Arthur was a normal, shy kid. Nothing more and nothing less, and that was it. A voice that sounded suspiciously like Matthew's told Alfred that he was just being silly, that nothing was wrong and that this wasn't one of his horror films. Alfred turned his back to the Dahlias, deciding it wasn't important if he could suffocate himself with a pillow. Why would he ever need to know that? He flopped back down on his bed and grabbed his remote from his night stand. Should he play video games or watch television? Video games. Video games were much better than anything else on. He loaded his Skyrim file and wasted time like that, only stopping to callout to his mother and father when they came home. When the digital clock flashed that it was almost 11 P.M., he stopped the game and went around for a snack.

His brother was in the kitchen too. He did a quick scan of the area before deciding that the coast was clear of any idiot teens. He casually asked Matthew as he rummaged through the fridge if his friends were gone. Matt rolled his eyes back. "Of course they are, you coward. You know, they really aren't that bad if you try to talk to them."

"But, Mattie! They hate me," Alfred whined as he searched for the soda. "Don't start with me, they think I'm stupid."

"They do not think you're stupid, Al, they just don't think you're really that smart. Maybe if you would try growing up for a change, people wouldn't think you're dumb. Even if you are- Hey! Don't hit me! See what I mean, immature." Matthew's face lit up with glee as he dodged another one of his older brother's punches. The two joked around in the kitchen a bit more, before they hid up in Alfred's room to watch Family Guy. The older blonde waited until the episode finished before he leaned over to Matthew.

"Hey, Matt, can I tell you something? And you have to promise to seriously listen."

Matt gave him a glare. "Of course you can tell me anything, doofus. What's up?"

"I mean it, Matt. You can't tell anyone, not even Mom and Dad, and you have to promise to not laugh _at all._ Because I am being completely serious and I swear to god, Matt if you laugh-"

"I'm not going to laugh, dammit!"

"Secret handshake on it, then," Alfred's frown deepened when his brother protested that it was a stupid thing they did when they were kids, but Alfred insisted. Matthew made a big show of lifting himself up, but he finally did the handshake as he complained the entire time.

When it was done, he laid back on the bed. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong, now?"

His brother gave him one last glare before he started. "Okay, so Arthur's weird, right? Like, really weird. An- Don't give me 'Not again,' Matt, I'm serious about this- And he has that really weird garden, that is freakishly perfect. He has plants that I _know_ aren't in season, isn't that a bit strange? Anyway, so before we found the vines around my engine, I had been helping him carry things. And I upset him, and the next morning _that _happens! Tell me that isn't weird!"

Matthew rolled his eyes and said, "That isn't weird."

"The attitude is not appreciated. "

"Look, I'm just saying that the kid might just have a green thumb, which would explain the garden. Maybe he's just that good," Matthew clamped his hand over his brother's mouth when he started to protest against him, "_And_ the vines could be from anywhere. Al, you go off road all the time. The vines could have easily come from that logical explanation."

"I still think you're wrong. Anyway, so our mystery teen gets weirder. Before I came home, I was at the park by the woods and I hear noises coming from the direction of the woods, so I look up and _there comes Arthur_. And he was dressed in these weird clothes that looked like a costume and he was carrying something in his arms and he looked really nervous about being out. I know you don't think he could be from another world, but come on, Mattie! That is just too weird to ignore!" Alfred had grasped his brother's arms at this point, but loosened his grip when Matthew remained silent. "Mattie, are you okay?"

"… You are such an idiot. Really? Why the hell were you spying on him, Alfred?"

Alfred jaw hung open. "But… But, Mattie, I wasn't spying! I just happened to be in the same area at the same time, weren't you listening? Oh, wait. Huh. But I promise it was a coincidence! Mattie, something weird is going on with that kid!"

"The only weird thing here is you!" Matthew pushed Alfred's arms off.

"So, you're honestly telling me that Arthur going into woods alone, wearing strange clothing, and carrying something that he obviously doesn't want others to see, isn't weird?" Alfred smirked as he watched his twin's face. He was definitely winning. "Come on, Mattie, think about this!"

Matthew looked nervous as he answered. "I mean, that's not very realistic, is it? That could never actually happen, I mean," he stammered, trying to think of flaws in Alfred's argument. "We have no proof anyways!"

_Damn._ Matthew had a point, he would need hard evidence. Alfred would have to get it somehow, but with the look he was being given he knew his brother wouldn't be helping him. Sighing, he let the subject drop and the two went back to Family Guy. Soon after, Matthew went to his room, not quite meeting Alfred's eyes. Neither actually wanted to believe the crazy theory. That kind of stuff didn't happen out of movies.

Alfred kept his eyes away from the window for the rest of the evening. When he went to sleep, he forced his eyes on the Led Zeppelin poster until Alfred could no longer stay awake. He dreamed that night of being chased down the hallways of his school by purple beings with bug-like, orange eyes. As he passed the science wing, he saw his brother relaxing against the lockers. Alfred tried to tug the boy with him, his brother kept telling him that the aliens were harmless. The aliens caught up to the pair, and tugged Matthew into the crowd. Alfred jolted awake to the sounds of ripping.

His mind was made up. He had to find out what was going on, as soon as possible.

* * *

Hey there, my wonderful readers! Have I mentioned how much I love you all and your kind words yet? No? Well, I do. I would drown you all with hugs of gratitude if I could. Thank you to the anonymous review of beastie ()! And again, thank you to those who review, subscribe, and favourite. You guys rock hard and through the night.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or the musical geniuses of the Eagles and Led Zeppelin, but I do own ice cream that started to melt after being outside for five minutes *looks at ice cream forlornly*.

I love to hear from you guys, so please leave a comment, and thank you again for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Leave A Light On

Chapter 4

Alfred was acting weird, Matthew decided. Well, weirder than usual. His brother had been on edge since the night he had 'seen' Arthur. Alfred had become jumpy in the last week, and took to watching the old house for signs of movement inside. Matthew was sure he was losing sleep. A light purple had grown under Alfred's eyes and he had begun to nod off during dinner.

Currently, Alfred was 'resting his eyes' as the television played quietly with his legs flung out onto the other side of the couch. His younger brother tried not to look like he was too worried about the other boy. Alfred wasn't as dumb as other people thought he was. If he was hurting himself, he would stop. Or at least Matthew hoped so. His twin could be pretty dumb sometimes.

A loud gunshot rang out from the television, jolting Alfred awake and making him fall onto the floor. His brother snorted and rolled his eyes. "Nice one, moron. Do you need ice for your ego?" Alfred flipped him off with a growl before he sunk back into the beige couch, this time grabbing a pillow to stuff over his head. _It's now or never, Matt, just bring it up._ From his seat in the armchair, Matthew reached out his leg to kick his twin's thigh. When Alfred didn't answer he tried again, this time kicking harder. He was answered with a loud groan, which Matthew decided was a good enough answer for now. "You know, maybe if you wouldn't stay awake to watch the neighbour's house like a stalker, you wouldn't be scared by gunshot noises."

Alfred tried to reply, but it was lost in the cushions. Matthew kicked him again, only to have Alfred tuck his legs in so he would be out of his torturer's reach. Disappointed at the loss of his victim, Matthew turned the volume up and smirked victoriously when he saw a hand try to press down on the pillow. It served him right for being so stupid all the time.

The miniature war raged on in the living room until heavy footsteps fell behind the boys, not softened at all by the plush carpet. Matthew looked up to see Tim carrying two full plastic bags that were stretched around long boxes. He rubbed at his eyes with his fist before he smiled down at his sons. Tim patted Alfred's ribs as he looked over to Matthew before he smiled again. "Your mother _insisted_ that we buy some new lights that go on whenever there's movement in the yard," The reason why Emily suddenly wanted those lights was left unsaid, but the twins thought it was obvious anyway. Matt just wished she wouldn't cause more drama with their neighbor. His dad started talking again, "She'd like them up tonight, but I am just too tired. So what do you guys say?"

Alfred sprung up to his feet, all evidence of his exhaustion gone from his eyes. It was replaced instead by a spark that told Matthew that his brother had an idea and was not going to stop until he carried out that idea. The younger boy was pushed back into his chair by his brother, who waved his hands wildly as he rushed towards Tim. "No, no! Don't worry about it, Dad, I can do this. You can relax; you too, Matt! Seriously, it's no problem, I've _got_ this." With these words, Alfred tugged the bags out of his father's hands and rushed towards the back door, nearly knocking Emily over in his haste.

The parents watched Alfred run out with bemused expressions, but Matthew was not impressed. What if his brother got hurt because of this? He raised a blonde eyebrow at his father, who merely shrugged with a subdued grin. "He's doing work _willingly_, son. I will not question this." Emily giggled as she settled on the couch to pat Matthew's shoulder before flipping to TLC. He decided he really did not care about what women ought to be wearing and slipped out of the room. Checking behind his shoulder to see if he had been noticed, Matthew snuck towards the stairs. His mother's eyes remained glued to the television.

Upstairs, Matthew creaked open the door to Alfred's bedroom. As he moved through the room, he was careful not to step on any of the dirty clothes that littered the room. Matthew pulled back the cotton curtains from the window to look around for his brother. Alfred was moving the lights around the porch. Every time a light was set, he would step back and lift up his hands into a rectangle to examine the light through. He would then use his hands to follow the path of the light. If somehow the light didn't meet his requirements he would shift it until it did.

Matthew's eyebrows creased together in confusion. His brother was making this last much longer than it needed too. How could his parents not find this suspicious? Was everyone around him dumb? Alfred was clearly planning something with the lights.

Pushing back the brown material, Matthew stepped closer to the window. His older brother had walked closer to the house and he could no longer see him. The slim face pressed against the glass as closely as it could without squishing its silver glasses. Alfred was fidgeting with the final light as he sat on the porch. Seemingly satisfied with the machine, Alfred stood up and walked towards the fence.

A quiet curse rang through Alfred's bedroom as his twin scrambled to reach the other side of the large window. The blonde head pressed against the window pane to see into the yard again. In the yard, the other teenager was setting the final light on top of the fence. Alfred had lifted his heels off the ground and was staring at Arthur's yard, one hand still on the light. He paused for a moment, before he twisted the light towards Arthur's door. Satisfied, the teenager whistled his way back to the house.

Now, a louder curse rang through Alfred's bedroom. Matthew tore across the room and into the hallway, pulling his own door shut after him as he fell into his room. The boy threw himself onto the bed, franticly pushing the start button on his laptop in an attempt to look innocent should his brother walk in on him. The icon for the Internet service was clicked at as footsteps began up the stairs. _Hurry, hurry, hurry you stupid piece of crap!_

The door creaked open to reveal Matthew lounging on his comforter, basking in the glow of the laptop. Alfred grinned as he flung himself onto the bed too. "Hey, broski."

Matthew rolled his eyes, ignoring the dance he was doing inside. He lazily clicked on another email. "What do you want, Al."

His brother spluttered in response, holding an offended hand to his chest. "What, I can't visit my _favourite _brother without wan-"He was cut off by a glare from Matthew, "Alright, okay, I want to play Amnesia."

"No. Never again."

Alfred whined. Matthew hated when he whined, he sounded like a little kid. "Oh, come on, Mattie! I promise, I won't scream as much this time, and I'll actually play it this time."

"Alfred, no. I got scared of that. You got scared of that. It's not worth it." Alfred began to claw into his brother's side, begging for the chance to play the game. Matthew wanted to beat his head on something. He never could refuse Alfred anything, he was too soft. Maybe he could distract him though. He decided to go for it. "So, what's got you in such a happy mood?"

"Let's just say, many questions will be answered soon, and people will be proven wrong, and other really cool stuff will happen." Matthew was nearly pushed off the bed when his brother stretched out as far as he could. "It'll be great, just watch."

A foreboding feeling settled into the younger boy's chest. Arthur clearly wanted his privacy, and Matthew didn't think he would take kindly to Alfred snooping around him. His mind flashed back to the first day he had ever seen him. The brother had seemed ready to attack his family when they tried to pry. If Arthur felt he was in danger…

He looked up at his brother. Alfred wouldn't stop for anything, it was who he was. Matthew could only hope he would stay safe.

* * *

While his brother was worried, Alfred was most certainly not. This was going to go great, and flawlessly. He leaned back into the computer chair, sipping at his espresso he had just made. Tonight was going to be a long night.

Alfred had been watching Arthur's house for over a week, but he had not caught the boy yet. His 'watching' hours (Alfred refused to call it stalking, despite Matthew's insisting.) had been reduced because of school, but the high school students had no school tomorrow and he was determined to catch Arthur in the act of whatever-the-hell he had been doing.

Alfred checked again to see if the light he had placed towards Arthur's yard had lit up yet. It hadn't. Alfred fell back and sipped at the caffeinated drink again. He set his drink down again and began to spin around in his chair, smiling when a breeze from the open window tickled his hair.

Despite it being well after midnight, Alfred still wore street clothes. He was wearing his red converse high tops, the ones that didn't squeak when he walked, a pair of dark denim jeans and his brown sweatshirt. He had to be ready for running after Arthur if he needed to. The room he was in was black with night, as Alfred didn't want to make his parents or Arthur suspect anything.

Alfred let out a small groan as he spun in circles. He was becoming bored, and staking out his neighbour was harder than he originally thought. He continued to spin in the chair, but stuck out his leg when movement on the street caught his eye. A small figure was hurrying along the sidewalk towards the park. A hood covered his head, but Alfred could tell by the colour it was his target.

_Why hadn't the light worked? _It should have alerted Alfred the moment the strange boy had left his house, but the perfect lawn next door had remained dim. Annoyed that his plan had almost failed, Alfred pushed his body out of the window and slid down the roof at a faster pace than he had originally planned. He was not going to let anything else go wrong tonight.

He sprinted across the grass, relieved that something had worked out. Alfred had moved the lights so that he would still have a path to the sidewalk without announcing his departure to his parents. He was quite proud of himself for thinking of the idea so quickly.

Alfred kept to the patches of fresh grass, careful not to let himself be seen in the dim glow of the streetlights. Ahead of him, Arthur's solid figure walked with quick steps, whipping his head around whenever a noise sounded. It was adorable, Alfred thought, the way that his hood would almost fall down with the pull of Arthur's double takes. Arthur looked like a skittish deer when he did that. Alfred shoved his fist into his mouth to keep from chuckling and crept after the smaller boy.

Though he did not need reassurance, Alfred grinned when he saw Arthur finally push back his hood as he entered the playground. He would have looked stupid if he had not followed the correct person. Arthur seemed to realize that he was not alone and turned around again. Alfred panicked before diving into a patch of broad-leafed plants surrounded by fake fences. He peered around the wooden posts to watch Arthur scan the area for followers.

From his position in the plants, Alfred watched Arthur's shoulders fall with light puffs of air when he was positive of his solitude. The slim boots took cautious steps backward as the grass muffled the clicks of their heels. Arthur's peridot green eyes flicked around the street once more, before he hurried into the woods.

Alfred waited until the other boy's figure had disappeared into the line of trees before he removed himself from his hiding spot. He brushed off his sweatshirt and hurried to the woods, careful to not step on any fallen branches. He dodged between the tall trees, keeping Arthur firmly locked in his sights. The boy had calmed considerably once he was in the shelter of the trees and was swinging his arms back and forth as he picked his way to an unknown destination.

Even at night, the woods were lively. Owls called out to each other in the distance as the wind brushed past the leaves in smooth patterns. The sounds were enough to mask the padding of Alfred's footsteps as he moved across the dirt floor. Alfred was no longer sure how long they had been walking, but the canopy of branches seemed to stretch endlessly all around him.

Moonlight streamed onto Arthur's hair as he made a sharp turn to the left. Alfred sped up, not wanting to lose the other boy. As he neared he heard the sound of a stream. Confused, he slowed his footsteps as he neared the tree where Arthur had turned. Alfred pushed his body against the rough trunk and poked his glasses around to spy. Separated by a thick creek and tall grasses, Arthur was making his way to a large tree. Branches from the tree hung low to the ground and high into the air, creating an illusion of an exploding firework.

Alfred's eyes widened as one of the low lying branches snaked its way under Arthur's feet, pulling him closer to the center of the tree. Inside, thin branches grew into the shape of an oval and Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of dull gray dust and sprinkled it onto the frame. A gleam shot its way across the oval and Arthur opened his mouth. "Clarik, 33 Water Street" fell from his lips and the oval gleamed again. Arthur huffed and shoved his hand into the pockets of his pants and shifted to lean on a single leg.

Curious, Alfred slinked along the base of the tree to get a better look. As he shuffled, he toed a rock and Alfred's heart began to pound. The stone tumbled down the lose slope to splash into the water, which made Arthur's head snap up. _Just like a deer,_ Alfred mused. Arthur's startled eyes narrowed into a fiery glare as he caught Alfred's hunched form in his sights.

Before he was even aware of what was happening, Alfred was jerked forward to dangle in front of the smaller boy by the grips of the eclectic tree's roots.

Arthur tugged Alfred sweatshirt into his hands, forcing the trapped teenager to look him in the eyes. Through the piercing glare, Alfred could see hints of fear in the other's eyes. Arthur hissed at him as he spoke. "_What the bloody fuck do are you doing?"_

Bloody. Bloody! That was British, they used it in Harry Potter! Alfred would have smiled at his revelation if it were any other time. But instead, he grew angry at the strange boy beneath him. "What am _I_ doing? You're the one who's sneaking around at night!"

Arthur bit into his bottom lip and looked away. "As if I would ever to have to explain myself to the likes of _you._"

"No, princess, I'm fairly sure you have to. You owe me an explanation about my damn Jeep and whatever that was just now. Talk."

"I owe you nothing, you spying prat," Arthur's head snapped back towards Alfred, who flinched as the roots tightened around him.

"Oh," Alfred decided he was definitely not going to take this crap lying down and turned his own glare back to Arthur. "So, you admit you ruined my Jeep's engine?"

Arthur let out a stream of hot air between his clenched teeth. He stomped his foot onto the bark of the branch before he replied, "Why did you follow me?"

Alfred smirked. "Avoiding the question now, classy. So what are you, exactly?" He was pushing his luck now, but he didn't care. His parents would know who to blame if he didn't come back that morning.

"_Sy'n osgoi'r cwestiwn_!" Arthur's eyes flew open and his voice seemed to raise an octave in frustration. His finger jabbed into Alfred's chest as he shouted the foreign words.

Alfred chuckled shamelessly at the other boy's reaction. "Sure, whatever you said, princess. So how about it," Here, he sobered up. "What are you?"

"If you _ever_ follow me again, you will regret it. Your brother and your parents, too. Don't mention this, either. If I hear you running your idiotic mouth about what you've seen, there is nothing in this world that will stop me from killing you," Arthur's face became stone, without any of the fear from before showing through.

Alfred stomach dropped. Arthur had seemed harmless before, but he couldn't risk his family, ever. But _no one _threatened what he cared about. "Excuse me, you son of a bitch, but-"

Arthur's fists clenched the fabric of Alfred's sweatshirt. Both hands began to spark green electricity, which Alfred could feel through the heavy material. "Get your sodding, fat arse out of here, or so help me I will hurt you now." With these words, the roots around Alfred's body threw him back across the creek.

Before he ran, Alfred swore he saw the look of uncertainty and fear rise again on Arthur's face, but he did not stay to see.

Instead, he ran as fast as he could through the woods, to the empty park and to his home. Alfred stumbled over the roots of trees as he fled, and scuffed his knees on the concrete sidewalk as he raced back home. He flung himself into his bed when he reached his room and screamed into the pillow.

He had just gotten his ass kicked by a petite blonde boy and now had to constantly watch his back so said blonde wouldn't exact revenge at inconvenient times. He needed a hot chocolate and a comic book, and he never wanted to leave the room again.

He refused to answer Matthew when he asked what was wrong. There was too much to say, anyways.

* * *

Arthur waited until he could no longer feel Alfred near the woods before he broke down to cry. He should have been able to feel the teenager coming, but he had just been so focused on getting to Gilbert and the others. He rubbed at his eyes furiously, before giving up on stopping the tears.

Curling into a ball, he willed the tree's branches to surround him, anything to make him feel secure. Arthur held James's pendant up to his lips, kissing and hiccupping against the pentacle as he rocked back and forth.

His sobs quieted down and his heavy breathing filled the woods. Tears continued to stream down his cheeks, though, but Arthur no longer tried to wipe them off.

A throat cleared behind him, and a hesitant voice called out his name. Arthur lifted his head to see Antonio's face searching from the oval ring of branches. He let out a sigh of relief and called back to him, running up the tree to reach the looking glass. A branch curled underneath him to make a seat for him. Arthur let out a shaky laugh and wiped his eyes. "Hey, Toni."

"Hey, mijo. Are you okay?" Antonio's green eyes scrunched up in worry, but he kept his charming smile. "Do you need us to come and get you?"

Arthur waved his hand in front of his face. "No, no. It's okay, I'm just having a rough day," He tried to lighten the atmosphere, but his voice was rough from crying. "I'm a big boy, you know. I can handle being alone."

Antonio frowned at him in disbelief. "Why have you been crying, Arthur? You know James would be furious if he found out we weren't taking care of you properly."

Arthur rolled his eyes, and dodged the question. "So, have you heard anything yet? Is there any word from Oliver?" His puffy eyes lit up with hope, but the spark quickly left.

"There's no word yet, you know I would tell you as soon as I did. Arthur, we've looked everywhere, you know we would tell you if we knew something," Arthur shrugged his jacket closer to his body, but continued to listen to the older man. "Oliver hasn't sent any word yet. James was close to us as well, we're worried too."

Arthur made a small noise in the back of his throat and shifted his weight from one leg to another. He didn't meet Antonio's eyes.

"I know you don't approve of what we're doing, but this really needs to-"

Arthur threw his hands up in the air. "Why does everyone think I don't support the revolution? You know I do! I light that damn lantern every night, you know I want change just as much as you do. That doesn't mean I have to like you all risking your lives, okay? I can be angry about this."

A chuckle came from the other side. "You know, we would take you. You're old enough now, Arthur. You'd be closer to us, too. "

"I don't know, I mean, it's a really big decision and I don't know if I should, and-"

Antonio laughed again, and Arthur knew his hair would be ruffled if he was actually with the tan man. "Just think about it, okay? And I promise, we'll tell you as soon as we know anything. Try to enjoy yourself while you're there though," Antonio's grin brightened. "Think of it like a vacation!"

"This is the worse vacation ever," the teenager grumbled back. He said his goodbye and walked back to his house, kicking at the dirt floor as he walked.

His eyes were trained onto the ground as he walked, ignoring the abrupt change from grass to cracked pavement as he neared the suburban neighbourhood. His boots shuffled along, filling the air with scratching sounds. Arthur missed the cobblestone streets back home and the looming houses of the city, crowded into little homely sectors. Everything was dull, dull, and duller here.

Arthur kicked at a bag of trash as he passed it. Yet another thing that was different. No one left trash on the streets back home, it was disgusting and unhealthy. He kicked another one as he passed out of spite. The night had gone horribly.

He hadn't really wanted to threaten Alfred, but he couldn't be caught. Tales of witch hunts filled his mind and Arthur clutched the pentagram to his chest for courage. Oliver had spent a week assuring him that this world was more accepting of differences now, but he couldn't shake the gruesome tales from his mind.

He really didn't want to be stoned.

Turning, the corner, Arthur finally lifted up his head. His eyes narrowed as he caught a flurry of movement down the block. Arthur let out a loud groan as he neared his house. Illuminated by streetlamps, his house was covered in rolls of toilet paper and splashes of eggs. The teen stood still for a moment, shock written over his face as he took in the damage. Hesitant steps were taken forward, but halted at the sound of an eggshell cracking under pressure. Arthur's nose crinkled in distaste as he lifted his boot to see bits of goo and white attaching themselves. The boot slammed back down, crushing the egg further as he stormed into the house.

The delicate lantern in the front window bounced around from the vibrations from the slammed door as he Arthur rummaged around a messy cupboard. Smirking victoriously as he pulled out a small kit, the teen rushed back to the window, pulling out a small pamphlet from inside the box.

_Quickie-Clean! For life's messiest moments!_

Arthur rolled his eyes as he flipped through until he caught what he needed. He decided the advertisement did nothing to help him and threw it to the ground, tearing into the box again. Thick eyebrows shot up as he noticed a small vial at the bottom.

_Using Your Drops: Do not use the 'Maid in Seconds' Drops in food cleanup, baths, or potion making. May be harmful to pets and children, may result in fire-breathing if swallowed .To use: remove the stopper inside the bottle to drop the product in the desired area up to a ten yard radius. Mess will be cleaned to the state of being one hour before the present cleanliness._

Arthur sighed in relief and rushed outside into his lawn. The drop of liquid was instantly absorbed into the ground and the mess was instantly cleaned up. Feeling quite pleased with himself, the teenager clicked his heels together and marched back into the house, where he pulled up a chair to the window and began to read under the light of the lantern.

The horrified looks on the faces of the teenagers who passed by the next morning left a warm feeling in his stomach for the rest of the day.

* * *

Apparently, Peridot is not an actual word in English according to Word. I disagree, and have proof otherwise. It's a quite pretty, grass green gemstone that is the birthstone for August. Take that, Microsoft!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, subscribed, favourited, and helped me out with this chapter! You helped give me the morality to survive the first weekend at my new job and _still_ write when I was tired!

I've had the scenes in this chapter in my head since I started writing and I am so glad I got to them. Thank you for reading them, and please leave a comment telling me what you thought!

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

Leave A Light On

Chapter 5

"Alfie, what are you doing?" Emily's face held a soft smile as she watched her oldest son duck his head around the aisle in the grocery store. The Jones family was shopping for food, which Alfred was usually excited for, but he had been distracted for most of the trip.

Her son jumped in surprise and turned to her, embarrassed that he had been caught. Alfred started to ramble of excuses forcing Emily to hold back laughter. "Mom!" he whined, "Don't make fun of me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear. You know I didn't mean it," Emily cooed at her boy, enjoying the face he pulled when she teased him. Oh, Alfred and Matthew were just too cute sometimes. "Come on, I need that bread for the stuffing."

She jumped when Alfred flew forward to grab the cart as it was pushed along. Alfred's eyes were wide and the blood had drained from his face. The fist that was wrapped around the metal cart was shaking slightly. "We don't really need that now, right? Let's just find Dad and Matt, and get the green beans and stuff for the casserole. The bread can wait; it'll be there when we come back!"

Emily blinked before she gently pried the teenager's hand off of the cool metal. "Alfred, please. We already told them we would meet them in the bread aisle after they picked up the turkey, and we can make our way through the store better if we go this way," She began to push the cart again, but Alfred pushed himself in front of the cart. _Honestly,_ she mused, _I told Tim to not let him have his way so much when he was younger. And now, he does this. _He had been acting paranoid for almost a month, and it was becoming hard to move without Alfred having a panic attack. The blonde woman stomped her foot on the ground to intimidate her blockade. "Alfred Franklin Jones, we are going to the bread aisle. I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but this will stop _now._"

Alfred bowed his head and let his mother march past him, numbly following after her. Emily fought the concern over what was in the next aisle as she turned the corner, then almost sighed in relief when she turned the corner to find the bread aisle empty but for one other person. The cart's wheels squeaked along as she made her way to her favourite brand, Alfred still trailing behind her.

The figure at the end was male, and gained familiarity as she neared him. From her distance away, Emily could not tell who it was and busied herself with her shopping list. The wheat blonde teenager with her remained silent the entire time, only responding to his surroundings when he was instructed to pull bread off the shelf Emily couldn't reach.

Emily frowned at Alfred as he shifted from foot to foot, occasionally glancing at the boy down the aisle, but the frown broke as her husband and her other son came into sight. "And now that we are all here, we go to the cans!" She spun the cart around and began to wake down the long aisle. Alfred groaned when he saw that they would be going closer to the boy, who was slowing coming into focus.

As the cart rolled closer, Emily realized that it was the neighbor boy. He hadn't noticed them yet, too busy pulling out spices from the racks and examining them. The wheels halted as Emily turned back to share a look with Tim. The older man shrugged in return. Emily pivoted towards the teen and cleared her throat.

Arthur lifted his head up and blushed slightly when he realized he was no longer alone. "Oh, hello, Mrs. Jones," green eyes flicked behind her, "Mr. Jones."

Emily's lips raised in a fake smile. "Hello there, dear. How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you," Arthur muttered in reply. His eyes slid to the twins, and then back to the woman in front of him. "Yourself?"

"Oh, just fine," a tense silence filled the air after that, in which Arthur did not raise his eyes to look at the family again.

The teenager rubbed his lips together. "Well, I ought to be going. It was, er, good to see you all," He snatched a bottle of curry powder and began to push his cart away, not waiting for goodbyes, "See you around, I guess, Alfred. You too, Matthew."

The thumps of his steps grew quicker as he hurried towards the registers. Emily pretended she didn't see the way Alfred's shoulders instantly relaxed. Tim waited until they were alone again before he mumbled that they should get going. The rest of the trip was passed in awkward silence, only interrupted by Emily's chirps of how good the food would be.

* * *

Alfred angrily swiped his sleeve across the window again, clearing the steam from his breathing so he could glare at his traitor brother outside. Matthew was currently helping Arthur cover the plants in his yard for winter. Alfred could see the hint of grins and laughter on his brother's face as he spoke with Arthur from his position in the window in his parent's room.

The tall blonde pulled another pillow off the bed, and punched it angrily, his previous victims lying forgotten on the floor. Alfred's eyes narrowed when he saw the soft smile on Arthur's face as he said something that made Matthew laugh again.

Something so dangerous should not look so sweet. Alfred slammed his head into his pillow when he realized what he had just thought. _Not me, too._ If he didn't stay alert to the threat of Arthur, no one would protect his family. It was like those weird things in the 'Gremlins' movies. Just because something was cute and fluffy and 'adorable' didn't mean it was okay to let one's guard down.

And there was the cute thing again! Blue eyes attempted to burn holes into the green eyed boy below. Girls were cute. Kittens were cute. Not freaky demon kids that steal brothers away because "Honestly, Al, he needs help with the yard work. Are you so oblivious that you can't even see _that_?" It was obviously a trick, and Matthew was just too dumb to see it.

As if he felt the glare burning into the skull, Arthur raised his head to meet Alfred's eyes. Upon seeing the glare, his smile dropped and was replaced by a grumpy frown. Alfred smirked victoriously. _Damn straight you're not going to smile with my brother._ Alfred slurped at his McDonald's shake as he continued to watch the pair work.

His slurping slowed when he saw Arthur nudge Matthew and lean into his ear. Alfred clutched the drink in his hand tighter as tighter as he watched the two go back and forth before seemingly resolving the subject. The two worked in silence for a while, before the taller blonde stood up and brushed down his pants.

Alfred was unable to find out what happened after that. His mother had stormed in after seeing the messy bedroom and yelled at him, making him straighten the entire room and leave with his shake. The teenager was forced into the kitchen, where he no longer had a clear view of the garden. Cursing, he ran outside to clamber into the treehouse. Alfred gulped down a bit of shake before rushing to the window. He was greeted by the sight of the back door closing and an empty garden. The blonde teenager flopped onto the couch as he ran his fingers through his hair, annoyed that he wouldn't be able to see what was happening any longer. He slurped at the last bit of his shake and climbed down the ladder.

Dragging open the kitchen's door, Alfred was met with the sight of his twin filling a bowl of fruit. Breathing out through his nose, Alfred marched over to Matthew, pulling the younger blonde into a headlock. "Hey, Mattie," he said as he popped a blueberry into his mouth.

"Al, let me go!"

"Hmmm, let me think about that. No, I don't want to."

Matthew flailed about in the hold as he laughed, "Come on, I'm hungry! Please, Alfred."

The older brother tapped his finger against his jaw. "You shall be freed-" Matthew cheered at this point, "On _one_ condition."

Matthew pretended to be annoyed with the other boy, but complied anyway. "Fine, you weirdo, what do you want?"

"What were you and Arthur talking about?"

"Wait, what?" Matthew immediately stopped fighting against the other boy. "Alfred, are you seriously still paranoid about this? Honestly, he's not a bad guy once you actually talk to him. He's pretty funny sometimes if you can get him to open up."

"And when did you two get so close?" Alfred let Matthew spin out of his hold so he could glare at him properly.

"We're not close, Al. You've been acting like this ever since you started stalking him. I don't know what happened," Matthew crossed his arms, "But you're creeping me out."

Alfred shrugged and held up his hands. "I'm just saying to watch out for that guy."

"Watch out for _what_, dipshit? The really nice guy who offered to pay me for helping him take care of his garden, and offered to make me coffee from scratch as a thank you, and is trying to figure out how to apologize to you for freaking out when you were the one stalking him? Al, now you're just being ridiculous. Maybe if you would try to have normal conversations with him you would see that he isn't so bad!" Matthew began to laugh in frustration and Alfred could feel himself losing. Matthew always won.

"But, I mean…" Alfred threw his arms out to his brother, "Mattie, you weren't there! He-"

"Was really freaked out, Al. He explained about you following him and him threatening us. He apologized to me about it too," Matthew's almost purple eyes looked at him with disappointment. "Alfred, I just had an entire conversation with him about how homesick he is and how people keep bothering him, so he gets really defensive."

"But-" Alfred was cut off by a hand waved in his face.

"No more, I'm done," Matthew nibbled at a strawberry as he picked out another and handed it to his twin. "You want any of this?"

The corner of Alfred's mouth twitched upwards. "Fruit's icky."

"Don't be a fatass, eat up."

"I'm not fat!"

A smirk. "Keep telling yourself that."

Alfred stuck out his tongue and helped himself to a handful of berries before leaving for his bedroom. He pushed his books into his backpack and stared at the blue material. He rubbed his teeth together and bit at his lip. Alfred raised his head to stare at the red house across the driveway. His blue eyes slipped back down and he lifted the glasses off of his face. Slowly moving through the room, Alfred peeled off his shirt and his pants, leaving only his boxers. The teenager crawled under his covers so that only his blonde cowlick showed and flipped the lights off. He didn't sleep that night.

Thanksgiving eventually passed, and school started back up for the twins. As usual, Alfred slept past his alarm and had to be rushed around the house to get to school in time. His parents had laughed about it as they usually did, though, so Alfred assumed it was okay.

Matthew was grumpy however, and pushed him out the door in annoyance while pulling his hockey gear after him.

As the twins approached the Jeep, Alfred noticed a white envelope held under the wipers. He shrugged to answer Matthew's unspoken question. On the front of the envelope his name was written in flowing cursive.

Alfred bit his lower lip and looked at his brother again. _Open it_, Matthew urged from behind. Alfred's blue eyes flicked down again and he turned over the envelope with trembling hands. The envelope fluttered down to the car as Alfred held a folded piece of delicate paper in his hands. He straightened the paper out to reveal the words written inside

'Forgive me.'

"Tch,"Alfred grumbled as he crumpled the ball up in his hands, wrapping the envelope around the bundle for good measure. His large hands dropped the ball into the nearby trash bin before Alfred climbed into the black Jeep. The Jeep accelerated down the drive way as Alfred flicked on the city's classic rock station and sped towards the school, ignoring Matthew's annoyed glare and the sinking feeling of guilt in his stomach.

Alfred pushed up his glasses as he pushed out of the car with his backpack, locking it behind him as he stomped up the steps and into his first class. As he entered he plastered on his best smile and began his tedious day. At lunch as he was joking with Chloe in the lunch line he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

The teenager cringed but continued to talk to the girl next to him. Matt had been trying to talk to him all day about what had happened that morning, but Alfred wouldn't hear any of it. The blonde grabbed a cheeseburger from the ancient looking lady behind the counter and waited for Chloe to follow him to the registers. The pair walked back to their table where the conversation quickly turned to Christmas vacation plans.

His phone buzzed again in the middle of his sentence and Alfred hung his head low. "Hang on to that thought," he called out to his groups, who naturally switched to a new topic. _Fuckers._

He slid his thumb across the screen, ready to tell his brother off for bothering him, when he discovered a text from his mother. '_Your Uncle Carter and Aunt Helena came home early from Kentucky. I'm going to visit now, Dad is coming later. It's just you two tonight. I left money for you to pick something up, love you!'_ The next was from Matt, saying, '_Fine, I get that you don't want to talk to me. I'll give you some space then. I'm going to hang out with Steve and Gary after our practice tonigh, I already texted Mom.' _

Alfred's lips twitched downwards. _Alone again_, he supposed. Pizza sounded good. He locked his phone and dove back into the conversation as he munched on his burger.

The rest of the day was spent by daydreaming into the distance as his fellow students gossiped and milled around him. He blindly worked through his assignments in class, finishing his work in class. It left his backpack feeling strangely empty as he walked out of the school.

A sudden wetness made its presence known on his nose, and Alfred looked up in confusion. Small white flakes fell down from grey clouds to land softly on the head off passing teenagers. Alfred's face tilted up to the sky and he closed his eyes, simply feeling the snow drop and melt across his face. He was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder.

It was Quinn. "Goodbye, Al," she waved cheerfully as she continued to walk past him.

"Oh, yeah…" Alfred seemed to realise where he was. "Bye, Quinn." He waved back as he headed to his Jeep. Inside, he shifted around to leave the parking lot and drive home. It was still snowing when he hit his block and pulled into his driveway.

As he walked to his house, his eyes caught on the trash bin. His entire body froze, and Alfred couldn't shift his eyes from the bin. After a moment of hesitation, his senses came back and Alfred could once again move. He tore his eyes away and looked towards the back door. He pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose as he moved his body to the warmth he knew was waiting inside.

The surge of warmth was almost instantaneous and Alfred breathed in the heat to fill his lungs. His happiness grew as he caught sight of a note on the counter of the kitchen next to the money for his dinner. _'No chores, have a good night!' _Emily's handwriting sprawled out on the page.

Alfred grinned like a Cheshire Cat and headed to the television. He grabbed his controller and focused on Mario Kart until his stomach growled. He glared at his stomach before pausing the game again. He sauntered over to the money before pulling on his heavy jacket and his converse. Alfred leaned towards the window to see snow still falling and sighed as he pulled on a pair of gloves.

Successfully bundled, Alfred locked the door behind him and walked to the supermarket down the road. Walking did the body good, and it was for pizza after all. Alfred would deny until the day he died that he was unhealthy and did all he could to prove his twin wrong, even if it meant getting cold.

He hummed to himself as he picked up his pace, the back of the store just in the distance. As he neared the building, he could make out three figures walking towards a slimmer, who seemed to be growing smaller every second. Alfred realized the smaller figure was folding in on itself as he backed towards the wall.

The taller teenagers surrounding , what Alfred now realized to be a boy, had locked shoulders to complete their rigid body postures and curled hands at their sides. Alfred felt a growing lump of concern in his throat. He pushed his legs to go faster as one of the teenagers raised his fist up and back.

His voice wouldn't work.

He couldn't call out, and save the boy some time.

He couldn't move fast enough.

The resounding smack of the fist against the cheek rang through the air like a gunshot and Alfred felt his breath catch in his throat as he watched a leg snap out and make contact with the boy, who cried out and bent over a bit.

A fist swung low to connect with the boy in the stomach as the boy was pushed against the wall. The smaller male grunted as his head collided with the thick brick of the grocery stores wall. Alfred watched on in horror as the boy's face collided with the pavement as he was shoved to the ground by the largest teenager.

Alfred's feet finally moved towards the boy. He didn't have a plan yet, but the boy was hurting. His voice still wouldn't work, which was a good thing for what happened next.

One of the teenagers had scooped the boy up from under his armpits to force him against the wall. While the boy looked a little worse for the wear, he didn't look completely awful with the expection of the ugly hands now clutching his neck. The green eyes and thick eyebrows were largely untouched, revealing instantly to Alfred just who the victim was.

His heart thudded against his ribcage. If that was Arthur, why didn't he just fight back? Alfred _knew_ that he could. He should help his neighbour, no one should be picked on.

But as his feet began to move forward, his legs jerked them back. This was Arthur, the kid he was angry at. Should he really help him? It could be a trick, conjured by Arthur's freaky powers or whatever. If he was really in trouble, Arthur could take care of himself.

Alfred rubbed the fabric of his gloves between his fingers. _But what about that letter? _Arthur didn't seem like he was a bad person most of the time, at least when he wasn't angry. Alfred watched the teenager holding Arthur up lean into his ear as he said something that made his friends laugh.

It only made Arthur struggle.

The teenager dropped Arthur to the ground where he was pushed around by the other two. He was kicked in the shin, punched in the side, and slapped across the face. Alfred stared at the quartet, still an unnoticed observer. His eyes flashed behind his glasses as he made his decision.

Converse clad feet began the trek around the store to reach the front entrance, their owner pointedly ignoring the shouts, cries, and pained sounds coming from behind and the gnawing feeling accompanying them.

Alfred tugged the woven gloves of his hands as he entered the supermarket. He wandered slowly to the pizza aisle, staring blankly at his choices. Usually, he'd grab the cheapest and leave, but now Alfred had more money than he usually did. That, and he didn't want to go out and see Arthur getting beaten up again. His conscious couldn't take any more of that.

_You could have helped him._

Alfred walked over to the California Pizza Kitchen items. He and Matt loved to eat there for their birthdays.

_Matt would have helped him._

He examined the choices from the company, and decided to move on. He didn't like the local brands, so that was out too.

_You should have helped him, Alfred. He needed your help._

Tombstone pizzas were always nice. But he didn't really want that.

_Hurry your ass up and help him, dillwad. _These voices were starting to sound suspiciously like his twin.

He grabbed the cheese pizza that included cookies and sped off to the register. Alfred bounced on his feet as he waited for the brunette girl behind him to ring him up. The girl's hazel eyes slid to his bouncing body and she moved even slower.

_Go already!_

"Do you want paper or plastic?" the girl asked as she stared at him blankly.

"Plastic is fine," Alfred tapped his finger against the counter, watching her movements anxiously. The weight in his stomach grew heavier as time passed. The gloved hands tore the bag out of the cashier's hands, eliciting a scoff from the annoyed girl.

He ignored her though, and sprinted out of the store. The sky had darkened while he was inside, but the lamps surrounding the store and street showed that the snow was falling in larger chunks now. As Alfred neared the back of the store, he slowed his body to walk cautiously. Glasses peered around the edge of the building to see that Arthur was sitting on the pavement with his back against the store.

_Some hero you are._

Alfred walked forward, suddenly feeling very small. "Hey."

Arthur lifted his green eyes. Alfred noticed a nasty bruise on the once pale skin of Arthur's left cheek. "Hello, Alfred."

Alfred's heart thudded against his ribcage. This was his fault. "Do you need help?" As soon as he felt the words leave his mouth, he felt like hiding himself in the head.

Arthur, luckily, ignored his stupidity. "Er, no thanks, I think I've got it." Arthur lifted his arm to grip the wall and stand. As he shifted to his left leg, a whimper escaped his lips and he stumbled down. Alfred winced and moved forward to help him stand. The pair began to inch away from the supermarket.

The pace was too slow. Alfred sighed. "You are so lucky I found you," He rolled his eyes as he bent to the ground. Alfred threw a glance back when Arthur didn't move and heaved a sigh. "Climb on to my back."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Come on, princess. I don't want to be out all night."

Alfred narrowed his eyes at Arthur, who wore a desperate look. Realizing he could no longer protest, Arthur tilted forward to lay on the taller teen's back and laced his bare hands across the broad chest. A grunt escaped Alfred's lips as he lifted to his full height and wrapped his arms under thin legs. He began to walk again, the pizza thumping against Alfred's jeans as he moved forward into the night.

* * *

DISCLAIMER:I do not and cannot own California Pizza Kitchen, Tombstone Pizzas, the Converse Brand, the Gremlins movies, nor do I own Axis Powers: Hetalia.

Thank you all for your continued support with reviews, private messages, subscriptions, and favourites! Please leave a comment telling me what you thought, they brighten my day! (Yes, even constructive criticism. I love improving.) And gives me motivation.


	6. Chapter 6

Leave A Light On

Chapter 6

Arthur stared at the brown trunks of the trees as the pair passed them. Alfred hadn't slowed or spoken since he had begun to carry him, and the smaller boy was feeling boredom set in through the awkwardness of the situation. He kept his mouth closed, though, and stared at the snowflakes that were delicately covering the earth.

The smaller teen lifted his eyes from the scene before him to look at the person who was carrying him. Alfred had his blue eyes set forward in a straight line. Arthur could see that his jaw was clenched into a grim line. "Hey," he mumbled. The body beneath him tensed, but the other continued to walk forward. Arthur leaned his head closer to the ear in front of him. "Hey. You can't ignore me forever, dimwit."

"Fairly positive I can."

"Alfred, please, I-"

The sliver glasses did little to hide the glare coming from the larger teenager. "I don't want to hear it."

"Look," Arthur made a face as some of Alfred's hair caught in his mouth, "I know I've cocked everything up, but I really would like a chance to simply put an apology out if so you wouldn't mind."

Alfred trudged through the snow that was hindering his project, and Arthur almost worried that he would be left alone with his guilt. Headlights from passing cars shone against the boys. Finally, the sound of Alfred's footsteps was broken by words. "What the hell does cocked up mean? Who says that?"

"Plenty of people say cocked up, I will have you know!"

"Bitch, please. You're just strange."

Arthur decided to ignore the laughter that accompanied Alfred's words and argue back. "Plenty of people say that, you're just too much of a duffer to know that." He would deny the smile that twitched at his lips later.

"Duffer? Seriously? Next time you say a strange word, I'm dumping you off my back," Arthur could see the grin stretched out across Alfred's face.

"You wouldn't dare. I'd kick your sorry arse if you did, and I wouldn't feel sorry for you for a moment," Brilliant green eyes slid shut as their owner gathered the courage to speak. "Alfred, I do feel badly about what happened. You startled me, but I should not have overreacted."

"Overreacting? You held me hostage," The blue-eyed teen snarled back, all traces of the light hearted mood of before vanished inside. "With plants, I might add, which is just plain scary, and it proves that you're a freak."

"I am not a freak! Just because you don't understand something does not mean it's a freak."

"Yeah, well, you're still a freak," Alfred grumbled at his load, "And I'm still mad."

Arthur heard the fabric of their coats rub against each other as the taller teenager shifted the hold on his body so that Arthur's shoes would no longer collide with the jeans below him. The rises of chest from Arthur was halted by Alfred's broad back, leaving the teen feeling small and helpless. He waited to speak, choosing to pick snowflakes off of his crossed arms as he thought about his words.

"Alfred," the passenger slowly began, directing his eyes to the ground instead of his target, "Honestly, I was never going to hurt you."

The target of the words rolled his shoulders as he walked, choosing not to look at Arthur's face. "Then why did you threaten me?"

Arthur flinched as the clipped words hit him, but he still snapped back at him. "Why would _you _follow me?" He knew from the way the shoulders beneath him tensed that he had Alfred backed into a corner. Arthur smirked a little, glad of the upper hand.

"You were being suspicious and now I know you're not human, which means I was right and Matt can suck it," Alfred crowed into the night with a proud voice.

Arthur's eyes narrowed at the boy beneath him. Was he really that childish? "Please tell me that showing up your brother was not the reason for you stalking me."

"It wasn't stalking, and that wasn't my reason."

Arthur scoffed. "Then why did you point lights at my front door?"

Alfred's steady footsteps fell to a halt as his blue eyes snapped down to his passenger. "You knew about that?"

"Of course I knew about that. Next time you're setting a trap for someone, you shouldn't be so obvious about the whole thing. By the way, would you like your batteries back?"

"You-" Alfred's voice crackled with frustration.

"Yes, I did take your batteries out. It was supposed to keep you from following me," Arthur huffed in the Alfred's left ear. Honestly, what did he think happened? I was followed by this idiot? His brothers would have been ashamed. "But someone was so desperate to find out I was a witch that-"

"So you aren't a human!" The bounce had strangely returned to Alfred's steps at this revelation, "I knew it! I knew it! Matt can suck my balls because I was completely right about this!"

Arthur felt his body be jostled by the jerky movements. "Alfred."

"This is great. I can't believe I was actually right this time. This is fantastic. Oh, thank you, Arthur, you really saved my ass this time. I would have looked like a complete idio-"

"Alfred, please st-"

"Whoa, I just realized… Arthur, I am so sorry about earlier, I don't know what got into me, I was completely-

"ALFRED."

The jarring movements stopped. "What is it?"

"You're hurting me."

"Oh. Sorry about that," Alfred chuckled nervously. "You okay back there?"

"I'm fine," Arthur wanted to sigh in relief, "But please be a little more careful in the next few blocks."

The taller blonde nodded back. "Okay. But, listen. I really am sorry about this whole mess, and if there's anything I can do to make it up to you, please tell me. I shouldn't have treated you like that."

"It's fine, Alfred, let's just put this whole thing behind us now. I really don't want to think about this anymore," Arthur scrunched the fabric of Alfred's clothing. "Just drop me off in front of my house. I'll be fine."

Alfred laughed into the night as they passed under a streetlamp. "What? No, just come inside mine for a bit. I want to check your bruises and stuff. Besides, I have pizza and cookies. Let's start being nice to each other with that."

"You… Want me in your house?"

Alfred hissed some air in as he turned up their street. "Yeah, sure. Why not start being friendly now, you know?" He set Arthur down and the teen was finally able to look clearly into the other's face. Snow coated the top of Alfred's head and his cheeks were dusted light pink from the nipping cold. "Plus, I owe you one. Or two, actually."

"I already accepted your apology if that's what you mean," Alfred turned the key in the gold lock and waved Arthur in first. As they entered, a blast of warm air surrounded their bodies and relaxed their muscles. Arthur took the opportunity to study the front entrance. Pale beige walls led into a spacious living room with thick carpet and fluffed couches. Grey light from the window was chased out as Alfred switched on the lights, giving the room a cozy atmosphere. It felt like parlour back home, but it had more Alfred in it.

Alfred was stripping himself of his jacket and motioned for Arthur to do the same, but he refused with a shake of his head. Blonde eyes rolled as their owner tugged the other into the kitchen and motioned from him to sit at the island. Arthur slid into the wood chair while his eyes darted nervously through the kitchen before settling on watching his neighbour rummage through the cabinets by the patio.

"It's not quite what I meant," stammered out Alfred, "and I understand if you take that back, by the way. You are completely within your rights there, I was wrong to do it. So, I am really, really, really humongous really sorry that I did this, and I really shouldn't have so-"

"I can't forgive you if you don't tell me what you did, Alfred. However," Arthur smiled pristinely, "I can tell you that I have already largely forgiven you for your bullshit."

Alfred pulled a red kit out from the cupboard and set it on the granite top of the island. "Still, I really should apologize for everything. "

A snort came from Arthur as he picked at the wet splotches in his coat. "Not needed. Throw in your damn pizza already, or I'm leaving and will never talk to you again."

"You like me too much for that."

Another snort. "Try me."

The taller teenager threw the plastic bag onto the counter and pulled out the pizza, slowly tearing open the sides before he pulled the food out. He was about to place the food on the stove, but he turned around. "Are you sure you don't want me to, I don't know, fix you up first?"

Arthur lifted an eyebrow in response to this. _Why is he so persistent about this?_ The witch set his hand down against the counter with a huff. "And we can't do this while it's cooking?" Alfred looked like he wanted to protest, but Arthur waved his hands at him. "I am far more likely to die of hunger than these minor injuries, Alfred."

"Al." The pizza was slid into the metallic oven and blue eyes canned the directions.

Arthur flicked his eyes up from the counter. "…Sorry?"

"Just call me Al," the other teen muttered, ducking his blue eyes down.

Arthur felt his eyes widen in surprise. "Um, yeah," he coughed into a curled fist, "Okay, then."

Silence worked its way through the kitchen as Alfred moved around, pulling out cups and plates as the pizza and cookies cooked. With a heavy heart, Arthur turned his head to stare at the treehouse in the back, whose steps were slowly being covered by the sticky snowflakes.

Arthur ran his hand over the lines in the table, ignoring Alfred's busy movements around the kitchen until the red kit was slapped onto the table in front of him. Alfred's shy grin bore down on him. Arthur watched him for a moment, but chuckled when Alfred's silence continued. "Did you need something?"

The other teenager stared at him incredulously, the grin slipped into a hung jaw. "Dude, it's a first aid kit. Take off your coat so I can fix you up."

"Well," Arthur stuttered back. "That's really not necessary; I can do that at home, honestly, Al. It's fine."

Alfred waved him off instead, scooping the kit into his arms and tugging the smaller boy into the living room where he was deposited on one of the couches. He vaulted over the back to roll onto the next off the couch, somehow kicking his legs out to rest on the coffee table in front of him.

Arthur fought the urge to knock his feet off.

His glance was torn away from the abused table by Alfred's voice. "I should really help you anyways," Arthur felt his jacket torn off. _When did that become unbuttoned?_ He watched the clothing be thrown carelessly into a neighbouring chair. "Just let me do this, okay?"

Alfred pulled a small tube out of the box and then some bandages, before he twisted Arthur's face in his hands. "Well, you've got some cuts, of to the side on your neck, but then you've got a lot of bruises too, which I can't help you with. Sorry about that, they look pretty nasty."

That was true enough, Arthur decided. He could feel the one on his cheek the most, as it was beginning to throb under Alfred's poking. "S'alright. I can fix these when I get home."

"You keep saying that, and I wish you wouldn't. I owe you one."

"And you keep saying that, which is largely unnecessary."

"Well, maybe you should stop!" Alfred countered and the pair glared at each other, the first aid kit completely forgotten. Suddenly, Alfred burst out laughing. It was a charming laugh, and Arthur found himself laughing along. As the laughter slowly faded away, the taller teen pulled out a set of bandages again to set around Arthur's body.

Alfred worked in silence, letting out a hiss when he pulled the fabric of the witch's pants to reveal a slightly swollen ankle. He sent an unsure glance up before pressing against the ankle, prompting Arthur to hit the other in the head.

"Watch what you're doing!"

"I had to check if you had a sprained ankle!" Alfred protested back, his blue eyes glaring from underneath his glasses.

Arthur matched him with his own glare. "I already know it's sprained. Unlike _you_, I can actually help with injuries."

"Just let me help you, okay!" His angry voice rang through the house. The two glared at each other, waiting for the other to break first. From the kitchen, a beeping sound cut through the tension. Alfred's glare intensified, but he got up to grab the food. "Pizza's done," he grumbled.

A nagging voice settled into Arthur's brain, making his glare drop. Why was he being so mean? Alfred may be stupid, but he was just trying to help. A huff escaped his lips at the thought of apologizing. There had been far too much of that today.

But maybe it was necessary. They had both pulled too much crap to just start being friends; Alfred would have to work to earn his trust. Arthur rolled his eyes as the voice began to scream in protest_. Fine._ He would have to work for Alfred's too.

Green eyes slid from each object in the room to occupy their owner. Everything seemed so orderly… Did they even use this room, or was it actually cleaned that often? Not even he was able to keep a room clean like that. Arthur rubbed his toe into the carpet as he waited for Alfred.

Alfred peeked around the corner before holding up a plate stacked high with pizza and cookies. "Wasn't sure how much you wanted," he mumbled as he set down the food on the coffee table. "You can put whatever you like on the television."

The remote slid into Arthur's hands uselessly. What the hell was he supposed to do with this? Oliver had bought a television, but they had never actually used it. Not knowing that was probably something embarrassing. Maybe he could just play it off for Alfred to use it.

Luckily, the other teen took the bait, and Arthur was able to enjoy a mindless plate of pizza. Silence descended on the boys as they munched on the pizza until Alfred once again broke it. "What do you think of it?"

"Hmmm?" Arthur tilted his to the side, not understanding what he meant. Whatever was playing seemed tasteless to Arthur, but he was sure Alfred would not want to hear that. But the other option was equally poor, and it wouldn't do to be rude.

Alfred rolled his eyes at him. "The pizza. What do you think about the pizza."

Lovely. It was just his luck, really. Arthur shrugged and tried to be nonchalant. "It's fine."

"Just fine? Come on," he laughed. "It's good pizza, admit it!"

Arthur sucked in a breath. "Not really," He cringed when he saw the incredulous look on his host's face. He should have kept his mouth shut. "It's okay to eat, but I know a guy who makes better."

"Whatever," Alfred scoffed as he turned on the television. "When you can give me this pizza, I'll believe you."

_That's not really possible._ "To do that, we would need to actually hang out more." Like that would happen. Alfred hated him and while Matthew seemed nice enough, he was busy with hockey. Arthur was doomed to spend his time alone, it would seem. The teenager pursed his lips as he stared at the coffee table.

Alfred sucked in a shaky breath before he spoke. "We could do that. I mean, there's nothing to say we couldn't be friends, it's just-"

"Highly unlikely, really. And completely unexpected-"

"Yeah, but that's not to say that we can't be friends-"

"Of course not!"

"So why shouldn't we?"

"EXACTLY."

Arthur's cheeks lit up when he realized that the two were leaning closer. He willed the blush away as the other boy began to speak. "So, um, how do we start this?"

The tense atmosphere was broken by Arthur's bright laughter.

* * *

Okay, it's fairly short for my usual. But the olympics have been fairly distracting and then I had writer's block/other ideas for stories and I GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE COLLEGE I WANTED, and excuses, excuses, excuses. I'm so sorry, guys. So, so very sorry.

Though you probably get tired of hearing this, support means a lot. Thank you so much for every review, favourite, and sunbscription I recieve. Those equal motivation guys, even when I'm dead tired and just want to crawl up and scream. So review and help me out, guys. If you don't like something or you love something, tell me so I can improve!

Until next time, I still do not own anything but the plot.


	7. Chapter 7

Leave A Light On

Chapter 7

"So, where are you from?"

"You're pushing it again."

Blue eyes rolled in fake disgust, causing green to narrow in very real annoyance. "Come on, you can trust me. Don't make me whine."

"I swear to God, Alfred, if you start whining, I will go straight home and you will do this alone."

The pair was currently walking through the town Wal-Mart so that Alfred could find Christmas gifts. The teenager had knocked at Arthur's door without warning just before noon and insisted that the other come along for assistance. They hadn't been at the store for very long, but Arthur had rejected every gift idea and Alfred was beginning to act irritably.

It wasn't Arthur's fault that his gift ideas were awful. What was the point of this stupid holiday anyways? Alfred had tried to explain on the way over, but Arthur found that he didn't really care. The holiday and its customs would remain foreign to Arthur and he preferred to keep it that way. Like gift-giving. The only holidays with gifts back home were birthdays. Why the hell did they need more occasions to give gifts? Why not give gifts for the hell of it? Alfred had almost kicked him out of the car when he said that, but Arthur decided to stick by his beliefs nonetheless.

Alfred pointed to the nearby poster bin, only to sigh when Arthur once again shook his head. He pushed the cart forward again. "Forgive me if I'm wrong," the shorter teen started," but I was under the impression that Wal-Mart is not the home of neither classy nor meaningful gifts. An example being strange plastic masks molded to the shape of bearded men."

"Dude, that's Santa. He's a classic."

"He's creepy." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"And you just have no sense of Christmas."

The smaller teen flashed a glare in his direction, which Alfred ignored again. Arthur's new friend was quickly realizing that the death glares did not actually mean anything and were more of a reflex than anything, which was good. Most people at his father's house avoided the witch because of his attitude, and he was missing the company of his friends.

"I have enough sense to realize that your mother would not like one of those," Arthur scrunched up his nose as he searched his brain for the right word_. It was something silly_. "Oh, right. 'Pillow Pets.'"

Clear blue eyes rolled along with the cart as they passed another aisle. "Pillow Pets are adorable."

"Whatever you say, Al," The pair migrated down the aisle in silence looking onto the shelves for things that jumped out. Their elbows bumped occasionally, causing Arthur's cheeks to blush slightly at the unexpected contact. "Would your mother like a candle?"

"She specifically said no candles this year."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The cart rolled on through the next aisle. Alfred's body froze up when his gaze fell onto the family down the aisle. He swore under his breath, prompting a look from Arthur. The taller shook his head and pulled back on the cart to jog down the open walkway.

Arthur was shocked at the sudden departure. His jaw had fallen open in disbelief as he watched Alfred's varsity jacket sway in time with his steps. Shoulders grew ridged as he felt a pair of eyes settle onto him.

A tall boy from the local high school was glaring at him with smoldering grey eyes that peeked out from behind brown hair. Arthur could see the fists clenching inside the jacket's thick pockets. He gulped down his fear and ran towards Alfred, checking over his shoulder to see if he was being followed.

He wasn't.

Arthur managed to catch up, but the friends continued to run. When Alfred finally stopped, he was able to realize the lethalness of Arthur's glare. Arthur could see the thoughts racing around in his head. _'Shit'_. This was not going to end well, and they both knew it. "What," the other hissed. "The hell was that?"

"Nothing, I just really wanted to be over by the… Toilet cleaners," Alfred finished lamely. If possible, Arthur's glare intensified, bringing sparks into the green eyes. The teenager seemed to decide to keep rambling in an attempt to make Arthur laugh and forget about the incident. "They smell so nice, you know? Maybe they can help us think of gifts."

Arthur heaved a sigh and pivoted on his heel to stalk towards the entrance of the store. Alfred sputtered and chased after him, forgetting the almost empty cart behind him just like Arthur knew he would. He was so predictable sometimes.

"Hey! Where ya going?" At these words, Alfred tripped over his feet, just barely catching Arthur's wrist for balance.

The smaller teenager breathed another sigh and shook off the hand. He continued to stomp towards the door, creating satisfying smacks against the flooring. Alfred shot out his hand again to grab at Arthur's and tug him back to face him. Again, Arthur slapped him away. "Leave me alone, Alfred."

"Why? What did I do wrong?" Alfred seemed to crumble under the look he was sent. "Okay, okay. Dumb question, I get it, but let me explain."

Arthur turned away from him to stare at the checkout counters. _I don't want to do this_. The teen stared down at his feet as he dragged his shoe across the grey flooring before turning back. "Go ahead and explain, then."

Clear blue eyes darted around the store. "Well," Their owner huffed," Not _here_."

"What the bloody hell is wrong with this spot?"

"Nothing!" Alfred shot his hands up to defend himself from the onslaught of an angry Arthur. "It's just, open, and stuff."

The smaller teen groaned and stomped off towards the back of the store, tugging on Alfred's jacket the entire way. "You are the most _moronic_ person I have ever had the misfortune of meeting, Alfred F. Jones, and that is saying something," The pair skidded to a halt so that Arthur could pull down the other and look him in the eyes. "Alright, you explain that bit of idiocy, and I'll pick out the gifts."

"What? But they're my family!" Alfred protested.

Arthur sighed and examined the shelves of the brightly coloured sports equipment. "Yes, but you have shown today that unless they are distantly related, you are incapable of buying gifts."

"I am so capable!"

"Alfred, you wanted to buy your father a high-tech torch."

Alfred kicked at one of the metal shelves as they walked. "Yeah, well it gets dark sometimes. It could help," The corners of his lips dipped into a frown. "And stop calling it that."

"No, Alfred. What did you get Matthew last year?" Arthur stopped to examine the section of hockey equipment. "He does play hockey, right?"

"Well, yes. If you call having a shrine to it in his bedroom to it as playing, then yes," Alfred scoffed at this, before tilting his head at Arthur. "Why?"

_Cute_. "Because I'm actually trying to buy him a gift. And you're supposed to be explaining," Arthur pulled one of the helmets from the shelf to hold it up in front of him only to place it back with a thud when Alfred shook his head.

"It's stupid," Alfred finally whispered, and Arthur fought the urge to groan at him. The teen began to wonder if Alfred was always this difficult.

He decided to bite his tongue for Alfred's sake. For the most part. "You running off without reason? Yes, Al, that was very stupid," A pale hand shot up with tip-toes to the top shelf to grab one of the red and white sticks sitting there to examine it. "Go on."

"That one's cracked at the top." Alfred muttered as he glared at the baseball equipment.

So it was. "Alfred, start talking."

"It was a guy from school. He just... I don't really know how to explain it without you getting upset, which I really don't want. It's just…" Arthur motioned with the stick for Alfred to continue speaking as he placed it back on the shelf. "Alright, I'm trying here. Artie, you really need to have more patience-"

"I hate that nickname."

"I know. It's why I do it. Anyway, so you have a bit of a reputation at school, and it's not the greatest one out there, because people think you're a little weird. Sorry-"Alfred let out a puff of air when the new stick collided with his stomach.

"I already know this, Al. I'm not oblivious. Is this good?" Arthur watched tan skin stretch back and forth from the debate inside. _Stupid boy_.

"I, uh… What?"

"Is this a good hockey stick for Matthew?" Arthur found he enjoyed the sparks that lit up the other's eyes. "Or should I put it back?"

"No, its fine," Green eyes sprang open as a hand was slammed down on the cart. "You're seriously okay with people doing that? Honestly? God, you are such a psychopath sometimes. Most people aren't happy with that, Artie."

A loud _smack_ bounced off the walls. "Don't call me that. And anyways, I find that I don't particularly care," Arthur's shoes made even sounds against the flooring as he walked. "What would your dad like?"

Alfred's arm rubbed against the witch's shoulders as they rolled past the pillows for the third time. "I dunno. A watch or something, probably. Mom washed his last week on accident."

"Then we have to go other places," The urge to snap at Alfred was too strong. "I told you we would."

"Wal-Mart has everything. I thought we could just go here! And anyway, people will see if-" Alfred seemed to realize what he was saying and had frozen up like a statue, blue eyes widened in horror.

Arthur widened his lips into a mischievous smile. "So you _are_ avoiding people with me!" His lips fell though when he realized what this meant. "Why are you avoiding people with me?"

"I'm not avoiding anyone, you're being ridiculous," Tan hands shot up to block their chest and Arthur became aware that he was advancing towards the other with balled fists. _When did that happen_? He let the hands fall to his hips instead.

The atmosphere was awkward, the silence broken only by a crying baby in another department. The two boys stared at anything but each other. Finally, Arthur cleared his throat and began to push Alfred and the cart again. "I have an idea for your mother."

"Oh," his friend said, still refusing to look at the other's face. Arthur thought it was a rather stupid thing to say, but he kept his mouth shut for fear of sparking another argument.

They rolled around the store, zigzagging between the wide shelves for the gift in mind and avoiding the shoppers with stacked carts. Eventually the wheels rolled to a stop in front of a set of shelves in the back corner.

Arthur watched Alfred's bright blue eyes blink from behind his glasses. They slid down to look into green. "Picture frames?"

"Yes."

A small noise was made in the back of Alfred's throat as he glanced around the shelves. "So… Why picture frames?"

Arthur shrugged his thin shoulders. "I dunno," he began," A few years ago my brothers and I had a photo taken and we gave it to our stepmother. She still swears that it was the best gift anyone has ever given her. Maybe Emily would like that."

"Yeah, she would like that," Alfred murmured as he traced the edges of the frames. A knot of dread twisted its way into Arthur's stomach as blue eyes widened. "You have a stepmother?"

"You're pushing it again, Al."

* * *

"I bear gifts!" Alfred sang out, enjoying the yelp his brother let out when the bathroom door was shoved open and the mad scramble to tighten the towel around his waist.

Matthew's wet hair plastered itself to the forehead. "What the fuck, Al? Get out!"

"Why, is there a problem?" Alfred laughed loudly. "Dude, it's not like you have anything different, we're twi-"

"Alfred!"

With another booming laugh, Alfred spun around and sauntered out of the room, dragging the wooden door behind him. He sprawled his body across the carpeting, grinning when he heard Matt cuss from inside the room. Eventually, the door opened to reveal the other's glaring eyes. Alfred only grinned when he saw that. "Hey."

"You're so stupid."

"Nah, I have evidence to prove I'm smart," Alfred jumped up to his feet. "I found Mom a gift."

Matthew sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Let's see this year's fiasco, then."

"You know, you really ought to have more faith in me, I can pick out good gifts. She's going to love this idea, Matt. I'm positive this year, and you're going to like yours, too," Matt made a humming noise as he walked towards his bedroom and shut his door. Al leaned against the wood with his shoulder. "I need some help with Dad's though."

"Why? Is it really that expensive?" came Matt's muffled reply.

A watch wouldn't really be expensive, but Arthur had insisted on a higher quality watch than the one he had originally picked. "I guess so. We should be able to buy a watch."

He nearly fell onto the ground when the door was wrenched open to reveal identical features drawn into a shocked expression. "What did you just say?"

"I was just saying that we should buy Dad a watch this year, but if you don't think that's such a good idea we can do something else. Geez, Matt, no need to get piss-"

"I'm sorry, but what did you say we should get?"

Alfred drew up his eyebrows in annoyance. "A watch, stupid."

Matthew's eyes bugged out slightly, but the ridiculous effect was lost on his brother. "How the hell did you come up with that?"

Hurt filled up Alfred's chest and clouded his brain. He wouldn't look good if he said Arthur helped him, and Matt shouldn't know about that anyways. "I just did."

Suspicious eyes took in the other face. "What did you get Mom?"

"A picture frame that said 'Family.' I thought she would like it," Alfred waved his hands about, hoping that would distract Matt from the interrogation.

It didn't, but Alfred wasn't expecting that anyways. The younger twin's face was lit up with glee. "You got help! Oh, I _knew_ you couldn't do it on your own! Who helped you?"

"No one helped me!"

"Don't bullshit me, Al. I know you."

"I didn't have help!"

"Alfred, you bought Dad a fishing kit last year," Matthew laughed in his face. " And you know he hates fishing. You had help this year, don't lie."

A lip was bit, and the deal was set. Matthew clasped his hands together and let out a harsh cackle. "Who did it? Is it the person you've been sneaking out to see?" If he had been taking a drink at that moment, Alfred was sure he would be choking. "Spill already!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mattie," The words stumbled out of his mouth. "I picked these out myself."

His brother playfully stuck his tongue out and squinted his eyes before dodging the swing of Alfred's hand. "You've still been sneaking around. You should tell me why."

"Would you just come to the mall with me?" Alfred huffed. He should have known that his twin would have realized when he was up to something_. Stupid, stupid, stupid_. And now he would never get peace.

"What for?" Matt asked. "And why right now?"

Alfred rolled his shoulders in response. "I want to get my shopping over with before things get too crazy. Help me buy Dad's gift." He began to tug at Matthew's sweatshirt, hoping to speed things up a bit more.

"Fine, just let me grab my shit," Matt griped and pulled on his shoes. "Let's get this over with already."

The drive to the mall was largely uneventful, despite Matt's off-key singing and the decorated houses the twins passed. Alfred drummed his fingers against the steering wheel in random beats as he pulled up along to the mall and continued the pattern against his leg as the twins walked inside.

A blast of warm air rushed the pair as they walked inside the sliding doors and into the welcoming lights of the building. Happy voices bounced off the shining walls as the brothers shuffled across the black mats.

Alfred pouted a little as he was dragged away from the twinkling lights strung up around the ceiling to look at a map across the way, before being tugged towards the escalators. They had marched into a shop on the lower floor where they ducked into shops. The brothers visited their fifth store before finding something that looked remotely decent.

But the horror hadn't ended there. To his brother's displeasure, Matthew wanted to go into even more places. Alfred followed him through the places, glaring at unfortunate shoppers.

They eventually wandered into an obscure shop at the south end of the mall without realizing. It was lined with the strangest assortment of products that Alfred had ever seen in an even stranger arrangement. Colourful pillows leaned lazily against a tower of hedgehog shaped erasers. Above sat a basket of foam swords that Matt pulled out a green one and started to hit his twin with. Alfred giggled as he passed by a set of Star Trek posters with funny sayings to the dim back corner by the rugs.

His footsteps echoed across the wood flooring of the store as Alfred drifted towards the corner. Wedged between the walls was a metal bookshelf that was crammed with books of every type. With a muted grin, he began to pull out books and examine the covers without a specific one in mind. Though most people liked to believe otherwise, Alfred did like reading. He mostly liked the new books, which got him in trouble with the teachers for book assignments, but he did enjoy reading and knew a good book when he saw it.

When his fingers brushed against cool leather, Alfred instantly smiled and pulled out the book to flip it open and leaf through. "Score," he whispered and turned up to grin at Matthew who had moved to stand next to him.

Matt chuckled. "Really, Al? I wasn't aware you would want to read that."

The twins knocked against each other in a mock fight before Alfred tucked the book back into his arms and weaved between the goods to reach the hulking man at the counter. His brother laughed following him to the counter and out of the store as he teased him the entire way back to the Jeep.

Alfred hid the book and watch where he had buried the rest of the gifts; in the upper shelf of his closet was a hideaway no one dared entered since a bucket of green slime had fallen over his mother's head. He threw an old sweatshirt on it anyways, just because he could. When he pulled it down later it fell on his head, causing Alfred to flail around the tiny closet before frantically hiding the gifts from Emily.

Arthur had laughed when he told him later in the comfort of Arthur's overly plush couch. It was the first time Alfred had ever been inside, and the house was so shockingly characteristic that he had frozen on the rug in the front and simply stared at the surroundings. This had effectively upset Arthur.

The teenager had tried to push out his guest for a few minutes before declaring Alfred hopeless and stomping into a cluttered living room and falling into an armchair. That was where they were now; Alfred flung across the couch and his wandering eyes taking in the plants, books and decorations that made up the majority of the room.

"Stop laughing," Alfred muttered. Arthur had sunken back into the chair, his eyes squeezed shut and his blonde head tilted back from heavy laughter.

The witch gulped in a few breaths. "I'm sorry, but that is just too funny."

"Whatever," A snort came from the couch. "I have a surprise for you."

Arthur hummed in the back of his throat, but his eyes did not leave the windowsill. His friend called out again, causing the smaller teen to flinch and turn wide eyed. Alfred sucked in a breath, rubbed the edge of his phone, and tapped the edge of the book inside his coat.

"Are you going to give it to me or not?" A thick brow was lifted to go with the teasing tone and the tiny grin that was playing at Arthur's lips. Alfred scrunched his face up into a scowl and tossed the wrapped book across the room. "I thought your silly holiday wasn't for another three days. Or did you lie to me about not being in school, Al?"

An instant heat rushed up to Alfred's cheeks and his scowl deepened. "Dude, I don't skip. Open your gift."

Alfred turned to bury his face in the coach and listened to the rustling of paper behind him filled the silent house until it finally stopped. Clothes rubbed against each other and a soft breath was sucked in. "What's it about?"

"Detectives, actually. I thought you might like it," Alfred shrugged. In his mind, he unleashed a grin. "Mysterious, just like you."

A pink tongue peaked back out at him as green eyes scrunched shut. "So," he began. "_Sherlock Holmes_. I can give it a try."

* * *

Disclaimer: I definitely don't own Hetalia, or Wal-Mart.

It's up! I'm so happy guys! Be sure to drop a comment on what you think, it helps me improve and write more often. Your thoughts are in every word I type. *shot*

Anywho, thanks for all for the support. See you guys soon!


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